Friday, March 13, 2020, was a professional learning day for many school districts in Connecticut. The timing was fortuitous because it gave educators a chance to make plans for the coming weeks. In the previous few days, they had learned that schools were going to be closed for a couple of weeks due to the rising threat from the pandemic that…

Last month, the U.S. government lifted the emergency designation put in place three years ago to address the COVID-19 pandemic. But the impacts of the pandemic live on, especially in schools, where there is a dire need to address the interrupted learning students experienced and continue to wrestle with now that they are back in classrooms. The…

At the start of the 2020-21 school year, six months after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic changed the lives of everyone, the author and the other instructional coaches in her district were temporarily reassigned to virtual teaching positions. In this article, the author shares what she learned about the kinds of support teachers need and how…

Two years after the onset of the pandemic, COVID-19 continues to take a toll on educators' morale and well-being. The need to strengthen relationships between educators and students is growing. The MyTeachingPartner-Secondary (MTP-S) program, which is a strengths-based coaching program for middle and high school teachers, helps educators respond…

This article summarizes lessons and examples from a learning community of leaders from 78 large and medium school districts across the U.S. that has been meeting monthly throughout the pandemic, that other educators might apply to their work as they continue to navigate difficult and ambiguous times. The learning community members have identified…

Linda Darling-Hammond, the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education Emeritus at Stanford University and founding president of the Learning Policy Institute, is a longtime leader in education, an expert on professional learning, and an influential researcher and policy advisor. She has been leading President Joe Biden's education transition team,…

Among the things that will be remembered about the year 2020 are phrases like "You're still on mute" and "Can I share my screen?" They are emblematic of how educators have been challenged to navigate uncharted waters of remote learning and overnight technological adaptation. To quote another phrase that will be remembered as a…

In the chaos and upheaval caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it has been hard to keep a focus on race and equity in schools. And yet in this time of disruption of the very notion of what it means to be a teacher and how teachers do school, keeping race and equity at the center of this work is essential. In this time of exhaustion and uncertainty,…

Iheoma Iruka is founding director of the Equity Research Action Coalition at Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute and research professor of public policy at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. Her work focuses on supporting the optimal development of children from low-wealth and marginalized communities and ensuring excellence…

Developing early reading skills is important for long-term academic success. Too often, however, young children do not have the foundations of literacy they need. One-third of Tennessee students read on grade level (Tennessee Department of Education, 2021), and in the state's capital city of Nashville, three out of four 3rd graders are not reading…

When the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted in-person education in spring 2020, learning leaders urgently needed collaborative professional learning -- to take deep breaths, reflect on how to shift their practices, and support one another emotionally and logistically to survive and eventually thrive in this unfamiliar learning environment. However, many…

The COVID-19 pandemic is a reminder that schools are complex systems in which everything affects everything else and that more important than materials and schedules are energy, commitment, and community. New priorities emerge, with the mental and physical health of every student and educator being the most important. Chaotic and volatile…

Acting to dismantle structural racial inequities begins with identifying and clearly naming the challenges being faced. Data play a powerful role in this process. Several recent publications synthesize data sources, research findings, and expert recommendations to inform and guide equity improvement efforts. A five-part "Statement of the…

Within weeks of school building closings in spring 2020, it became clear to many educators that the fear and isolation experienced by students and educators would force changes to schooling in ways that will reverberate for a long time to come. Many educators were particularly concerned about students and communities of color that were already…

The importance of high-quality evaluation is underscored in Learning Forward's Standards for Professional Learning: Evaluation provides information that supports advocates, professional learning planners, and anyone who wants to know "about the contribution of professional learning to student achievement" (Learning Forward, 2011). Most…