As the new school year begins, district leaders and principals may be asking themselves, “I know teacher collaboration is the best way to improve our school’s instruction, but how can I best structure and support team learning and make sure it will improve student achievement?” Guidance on effectively structuring collaborative learning time for teacher teams…

Amid rising levels of educator burnout and turnover (ERS, 2023a, b; Kurtz, 2022), there has been a lot of talk about prioritizing educator wellness. Wellness means different things to different people, but many experts agree that true wellness isn’t about simply going to a yoga class or even taking a mental health day (Bell, 2023;…

On July 27, the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee held a full-committee markup to consider several bills, including the fiscal year 2024 Labor-Health and Human Services-Education (LHHS-ED) funding bill. Bypassing a subcommittee markup, the full committee approved the bipartisan spending bill that would provide $79.6 billion in discretionary funding to the U.S. Department of Education in…

Frederick Brown, president and CEO of Learning Forward, issued a statement regarding the devastating effects from proposed fiscal year 2024 budget bill to the Title II-A program, Every Student Succeeds Act: July 13, 2023 — “On behalf of the nation’s children and educators, Learning Forward is shocked and gravely concerned by the drastic cuts to…

Learning Forward’s policy briefing in June 2023 was a special convening of education leaders representing superintendents, principals, teachers, and the U.S. Department of Education. Moderated by Learning Forward CEO Frederick Brown, the session featured participants who provided compelling insight and evidence about how professional learning is critical to retain teachers, intensify academic recovery, and meet…

School leaders have a major impact on student achievement and schoolwide improvement, but they can’t achieve success by acting alone. Excellent results require a team effort. High-functioning leadership teams are built intentionally and are, on average, five times more productive than average teams (Keller, 2017). Even when leaders recognize the importance of a team, most…

Learning Forward is leading a broad education coalition to persuade members of U.S. Congress of the urgent need to invest in educators and their students by providing $2.4 billion for Title II, Part A in fiscal year 2024 appropriations. This funding level is necessary for Title II-A to be able to fulfill its original promise…

Despite the debt ceiling deal, which was enacted June 3 and sets the overall fiscal year 2024 federal funding level at roughly fiscal year 2023’s funding level, House Appropriations Committee Chair Kay Granger, a Republican from Texas, issued a statement on June 12 that the committee would be using fiscal year 2022 levels as the…

As school leaders, principals are positioned to send a strong message about equity and excellence in their buildings and campuses through their deep commitment to ensuring every child’s needs are respected and nurtured. Ensuring all principals have access to the kinds of high-quality professional learning that helps them become effective, equity-centered leaders is an important…

On LinkedIn, we reached out to veteran professional learning facilitators and asked them to share their advice with first-timers. Whether you’re an experienced leader in learning or new to guiding educators in professional development, we hope you find inspiration from this collection of advice.   “Always keep it simple. The more complicated something is, the…