General Resources

Following the Dollars to the Classroom Door

This brief from ERS is based on its work with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District and examines the relationship between strategic school design and effective student-based budgeting. The brief highlights the importance of aligning funding with a clear plan for reorganizing resources in order to improve student outcomes, and recommends that three overriding principles should be at the heart of all design plans: excellent teachers for all students, personalized learning and support, and cost effectiveness through creative solutions.

School Leadership in Action

This series of videos follows five exemplary principals to illustrate five key practices that are essential to shaping instructional leadership: shaping a vision of academic success for all students, creating a climate hospitable to education, cultivating leadership in others, improving instruction, and managing people, data, and processes to foster school improvement.

Startup Teacher Education: A Fresh Take on Teacher Credentialing

This case study examines the work of three groups of charter management organizations (CMOs) to develop and launch teacher credentialing and master’s degrees programs. After concluding that traditional teacher preparation programs were not equipping their graduates with the skills needed to teach effectively, leaders at High Tech High in San Diego; Uncommon Schools, KIPP, and Achievement First in New York; and Match Education in Boston created their own programs for educating teachers, granting teacher certifications, and awarding master’s degrees in education.

Taking Charge of Principal Preparation: A Guide to NYC Leadership Academy’s Aspiring Principal Program

This guide provides an in-depth look at the elements of a 14-month research-based leadership development model designed to train aspiring school leaders in New York. The program requires participation in simulations, team activities, and an experiential component that is undertaken under the guidance of an experienced and trained mentor. Candidates must demonstrate that they meet leadership standards clearly identified within the program in order to graduate.

National Board Certification and Teacher Effectiveness: Evidence from Washington

This study evaluates the effectiveness of teachers certified by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards (NBPTS). A detailed analysis finds evidence that NBPTS-certified teachers are more effective in improving math and reading student outcomes than non-NBPTS-certified teachers. Results vary by subject and grade but are strongest for middle school math certificate holders. 

Who Enters Teaching? Encouraging Evidence That the Status of Teaching Is Improving

This working paper from the Calder Center analyzes 25 years of data on the academic ability of teachers in New York State and finds widespread and continuously increasing gains in the academic ability of certified teachers as well as those entering teaching. The report identifies a decrease over time in the gap between academic ability of teachers at high and low poverty schools, and between white and minority teachers.

Building a Stronger Principalship Vol. 3: Districts Taking Charge of the Principal Pipeline

The third in a series of reports from the Wallace Foundation, this report examines six school districts and the methods they use to improve school leadership. The Wallace Foundation evaluated the following measures in this report: the use of performance standards and data systems in the principal hiring process and the provision of support and training for principals and assistant principals.

Trends in Teacher Certification: Equipping Teachers to Prepare Proficient Readers

With the view that student reading proficiency in third grade is a key ingredient to future academic success and that teachers are fundamental in ensuring positive student outcomes, this brief by the Education Commission of the States (ECS) highlights 14 states currently requiring student teachers to pass an instruction-specific assessment in the science of reading instruction as part of their teacher preparation program.

How Do We Get Experienced Accomplished Teachers Into High-Need Schools?

In an October 2014 discussion hosted by the Albert Shanker Institute, a panel of experts examined reasons that high-needs students are disproportionately taught by new, poorly prepared, and inadequately supported teachers who often leave the profession at a high rate. Experts also discussed relevant policy changes that might address this issue as well as ways to attract and retain highly effective teachers in high-need schools. 

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