When I was a local school board member, parents frequently asked for my advice on how to ensure their child got a particular teacher in a school. I knew how the game would be played after I reminded them this wasn’t the role of the school board: They would write the principal with their requests for the next year. The principal would respond to assure the parents that no matter which classroom their child was assigned, he or she would have a great year.
Spread effective teaching from room to room
With a continuous improvement mindset, we can achieve equity and excellence
Learning Forward’s theory of action is based on assumptions that educators won’t achieve their high goals for student learning if they don’t set and measure high goals for educator learning. With the right goals in mind, the hard work begins.
Secretary DeVos: Here are Learning Forward’s priorities
Learning Forward looks forward to working with the Department of Education Secretary Betsy DeVos. Read more about how the secretary’s priorities will play a role in the future of education.
Guilford County’s new rubric allows ‘everyone to own equity as a priority’
With diversity in mind, Guilford County Schools in North Carolina is expanding professional learning options for teachers and ensuring that teachers have opportunities to go deeper in their learning.
Professional learning can address the equity challenge
By Janice Poda Several years ago, I was an expert witness in an equitable funding lawsuit in my home state on behalf of the plaintiff school districts. After court recessed on a very tense day on the witness stand, I took a drive through the small town where court was being held — the same…
Equity drives Learning Forward’s vision
At Learning Forward, we fundamentally believe every child deserves access to excellent teaching and learning every day, regardless of his or her ZIP code or family income. Socioeconomic conditions, race, ethnic background, and other factors should not be predictors for educational attainment. We believe school systems and other learning environments have to be relentless in…
A vision for equity in schools starts at the top
Hey, that’s not fair!” It’s a credo repeated righteously on play scapes or amongst young siblings regularly. Unfair treatment, even at that early age, stirs a visceral reaction no matter who’s involved. And while the consequences of inequitable treatment may be as benign as an extra turn on the swing or a more lenient bedtime,…
Leverage high-quality instructional materials
Studying and implementing high-quality instructional materials anchors the work of effective learning teams. Learning Forward has elevated the importance of this work for the same reason we amplified the role of equity in our vision — a recognition of the need to prioritize and be explicit about the strategies that have the most potential to…
No matter our role, multilingual students are our students
In this issue, experts call on all of us to better meet English learners’ needs.