Background/Context: Billions of dollars are spent annually on professional development (PD) for educators, yet few randomized controlled trials (RCT) have demonstrated the ultimate impact PD has on student learning. Further, while policymakers and others speak to the role schools should play in developing students' civic awareness, RCTs of PD…

Background: Though policy makers are beginning to hold schools accountable for reducing chronic absenteeism, little attention has been paid to the role of teachers. No known study has examined whether rising cohorts of new teachers feel prepared to address this challenge. This is particularly problematic given that teachers with less experience…