Late on Friday, May 30th, the White House followed up on its release of the so-called FY26 “skinny budget” with a more fully fleshed-out version. This new document retains the overall goal of slashing the Department of Education’s budget by 15.3% by proposing to eliminate $12 billion from existing programs. A large chunk of these…

Leading a school has always been immensely challenging but also critically important. Fortunately, we know definitively that a great principal actually makes learning possible for the students and teachers in the building, according to Paul Fleming, Learning Forward’s Chief Learning Officer. “Moreover, thanks to sustained research efforts from The Wallace Foundation and Vanderbilt University, we…

Learning Forward’s newest issue of The Learning Professional magazine happens to publish this week, National Teacher Appreciation Week, as we extend our unending gratitude to the millions of teachers in the U.S. and across the globe and recognize their dedication and service in an environment where they often face daunting challenges to meeting their students’…

Education leaders are calling on the U.S. Department of Education to immediately release more than $2 billion in Title II funding that school districts across the country are depending on for professional learning, teacher recruitment, leadership support, and educator effectiveness initiatives. In a letter addressed to Secretary of Education Linda McMahon, a coalition of 31…

More than 70% of school districts in the U.S. serve fewer than 3,000 students (NCES, 2022), and a recent study found that those districts are less likely than larger districts to provide school principals with the supports to be effective leaders (Diliberti et al., 2024). This has concerning implications for the more than 35% of…

In Learning Forward’s Leadership Team Institute, celebrating early team wins is not just a feel-good exercise, it’s a catalyst for continued success and team cohesion. In fact, two foundational elements for developing effective leadership teams are setting a collective vision and establishing an early win to demonstrate the feasibility of achieving the vision, wrote education…

On March 20, President Trump signed an Executive Order calling for the closure of the U.S. Education Department and mandating that all federal programs comply with his other policies on DEI and gender ideology. While the White House had indicated that the Executive Order would not really be about closing the Department, suggesting that it…

School leaders shape the direction of their schools and staffs, yet no principal can do it alone. Leaders need a culture of support and collaboration with other leaders and staff to achieve a vision of excellence for all. Amid an increasingly complex education policy and funding landscape and job demands, leaders must meet these challenges…

Everyone likes to feel valuable, needed, and in-demand, and it’s understandable that coaches may perceive being needed as evidence of their impact of coaching. Too often, however, it may be a sign that teachers are overly dependent on the coach’s advice, judgment, or praise of their teaching. This kind of dependency keeps the coach busy,…

In the spirit of ensuring excellent teaching for students everywhere, Learning Forward celebrates Public Schools Week 2025 by highlighting a few examples of innovation and change that have inspired us lately. Maryland: Student math gains powered by professional learning In a seed program in Montgomery County, students are reaping the benefits of a small team…