Parents across the country continue to be concerned about their children's academic and social-emotional well-being. Some parents are sufficiently satisfied with their children's school and are content with a return to a pre-pandemic normal. Other parents are sufficiently dissatisfied and have already made a change, whether between schools, to…

As schools across the country closed in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not clear how long in-person education would be disrupted. The abrupt transition to remote learning was particularly challenging for districts in rural communities, many of which have long lacked reliable access to high-speed internet and…

The U.S. faces a confluence of crises: a pandemic, economic destabilization, and a long-coming reckoning with systemic and historic racism. The early childhood workforce is a linchpin to a stronger, more resilient future for our country, but educators are often under-prepared and under-supported. Published by the National Head Start Association in…

School choice was intended to expand options and equity, and it holds promise for many students with unique needs. But it is clear that no choice system can be equitable until all students have real access to those choices. More than 400,000 youth are currently in foster care in the United States, many of whom experience significant obstacles in…

For the last two decades, Ohio has given its new public school teachers choices among retirement plans. Early in their employment, they are handed a form that allows them to opt for a traditional pension plan, a 401(k)-style defined-contribution (DC) plan, or a plan that combines elements of each. If they make no affirmative decision at all--that…

One of the greatest promises of the charter school movement has been the potential to create diverse school models to meet the varied needs of children, families, and communities. As policy makers and charter leaders have recognized the need to hold charters accountable for strong performance, however, there has been a move towards more…

In Spring 2020, National Association of Charter School Authorizers (NACSA) convened a working group of authorizers and other stakeholders to learn more about the challenges they faced, given the data gaps caused by COVID-19, and to ask what guidance was needed for the sector to adapt to these unusual circumstances. Based on their feedback and…

Fourteen percent of the nation's population lives in rural communities, and one in five K-12 students attends a rural school. This is a substantial portion of the population, but it's far too often overlooked by education analysts, advocates, and policymakers. Rural communities tend to face some persistent challenges, including higher rates of…

Human-centered design is an approach to creating solutions for problems and opportunities through a focus on the needs, contexts, behaviors, and emotions of the people that the solutions will serve. More recently, public agencies have begun to use human-centered design methods to define problems, generate solutions, and test them to improve the…

Over the past decade, educators and policymakers have sought to increase the number of students pursuing and completing postsecondary credentials. Community colleges play an important role in efforts to increase the percentage of Americans with postsecondary education. Community colleges play an important role in educating the early childhood…

In February 2017, Bellwether Education Partners gathered several experts in a working session to identify the biggest challenges for youth experiencing education disruption and to design a new vision for how technology can help young people overcome those challenges or avoid them entirely. The report walks through a journey map of the current…

Early childhood educators play a crucial role in supporting the development of our nation's youngest children. Research shows that the quality of interactions between adults and children is one of the strongest predictors of learning outcomes in early childhood classrooms, and that the difference between a more and less effective kindergarten…

A small but growing number of schools and districts across the country are experimenting with personalized learning, an innovation that customizes students' experiences to their individual needs and strengths. Through new kinds of environments, technologies, and ways to demonstrate their knowledge, personalized learning aims to meet students where…

This report is designed to help state and local policymakers identify the policy changes needed to expand access to quality personalized learning in their states and communities, and to give them the tools to make those changes. Each of the 15 policy ideas, or "plays," in this playbook provides background context on the challenges it is…

There is a growing belief that students can provide valuable feedback on a teacher's performance in the classroom. Student perception surveys are increasingly seen as a low-cost and reliable tool for gathering data and feedback on the quality of teaching in individual classrooms. However, incorporating student surveys into formal, high-stakes…