Q: “I’m an instructional coach working with some fantastic teachers who are technically doing everything right: They post learning targets and success criteria on their boards daily. But when I observe their classrooms, I see a disconnect. The targets feel like compliance rather than conviction. How do I help teachers move beyond just writing them […] The post Use learning targets for classroom clarity appeared first on Kappan Online.| Kappan Online
Q: I’m a new leader, and I recognize the strengths and challenges of my new district, but I know we can be great. How do we get full staff buy-in for a new initiative? The district hasn’t had a history of high expectations for professional learning and growth, so the learning culture hasn’t yet been […] The post New school leader wants to create buy-in for new initiatives appeared first on Kappan Online.| Kappan Online
"At what point do we say, 'This isn’t just a school district [issue]. Well, what can the city be doing?' Schools make a difference, but they’re putting societal issues on the backs of schools."| Kappan Online
Connecting education research, policy, and practice| Kappan Online
🏆 Best Education Journalism of the Week 🏆 (10/03/2025) In this week’s newsletter: 📌 Shutdown sends shivers, but targeted cuts are the real worry. 📌 Blue states (and journalists) have been slow on literacy, says liberal journalist. 📌 A Des Moines superintendent’s arrest raises questions about oversight. 📌Chalkbeat layoffs? The rumors are true. SHUTDOWN HEADLINES DESPITE MINIMAL IMPACTS The big education […] The post Shutdown worries, blue-state reluctance, & layof...| Kappan Online
The hit TV mockumentary about an under-resourced Philadelphia public school is stubbornly optimistic — and that’s not a bad thing. By Ekemini Ekpo It’s October. Though most American schools have been back in session for weeks, we’ve only just now reached the first day of school at Abbott Elementary (Abbott). The ABC comedy, created by and […] The post In defense of ‘Abbott Elementary’ appeared first on Kappan Online.| Kappan Online
Q: I love being in the classroom with my students, and I’ve been encouraged by my principal to consider a pathway into educational leadership. I don’t know where to start! What things should I be considering for a leadership pathway? How do I select an institution for a degree? Which degree should I get? How […] The post Educator wonders when and how to begin a leadership journey appeared first on Kappan Online.| Kappan Online
Columnist Starr Sackstein advises a teacher on how to prepare to teach a new subject with no experience in the subject.| Kappan Online
Q: “I’m currently working as a mentor with an untenured teacher and I’m struggling to help them hear my suggestions. They insist they are taking my advice, even though I haven’t seen it. How can I help if they aren’t listening to me?” -Signed, Feeling helpless mentor A: It’s fantastic that you’re taking the mentor […] The post Mentor is frustrated that mentee isn’t following their advice appeared first on Kappan Online.| Kappan Online
An interview with EdNC’s Anna Pogarcic about making “community-based journalism” more than just empty words. Part of The Grade’s series on innovations and alternative approaches. If you know about EdNC, then you know. Longtime readers of The Grade have heard about the outlet several times over the years — including a 2022 piece by co-founder Mebane […] The post Inside EdNC: ‘We follow our audience.’ appeared first on Kappan Online.| Kappan Online
In this week’s newsletter: 📌 Everybody wants to cover the story of dismal reading and math scores. 📌 Struggling kids, teacher-administration conflict, and a clueless district office. 📌 Schools spend enormous amounts on ineffective safety measures. 📌 How one outlet is making “community engagement” a reality. 📌 Here comes season 2 of Hulu’s ‘English Teacher.’ DISMAL SCORES, BROAD COVERAGE The […] The post Dismal NAEP scores, debunking the school safety industry...| Kappan Online
As teacher shortages continue, statewide systems to build up the profession are necessary. Missouri provides an example.| Kappan Online
When we invest in our new educators, we’re investing in our students, our school culture, and the future of our profession.| Kappan Online
To help new and veteran teachers grow, bring them into a professional community that values deep thinking, learning, and problem solving.| Kappan Online
Over the past 12 harrowing months of the pandemic, what stories told us startling new things, moved us most, or changed the way we thought about things – for better or worse? By Alexander Russo The first school-related COVID story that I’ve been able to find was this Washington Post story about some schools canceling […]| Kappan Online
New research findings challenge common assumptions about summer learning loss. In 1996, a team of scholars at the University of Missouri conducted a comprehensive meta-analysis of earlier research on the extent to which students learn and/or forget academic content and skills during the summer months (Cooper et al., 1996). They found that the test scores of […]| Kappan Online
Current and former education journalists look back and share lessons on the 5th anniversary of the start of the pandemic.| Kappan Online
This is the story of how virtual learning broke school culture, how administrators failed to rebuild it — and how media coverage overlooked the human toll of these failures.| Kappan Online
When teachers promote learning and mastery over grades and test scores, student engagement and motivation increases, research shows. Motivation — why students do what they do — and engagement —whether students do the work, see the purpose of it, and find it interesting and enjoyable — are often intertwined. In fact, engagement has been described […]| Kappan Online
Three common mistakes in how media outlets depict English language learners in schools — and a handful of model stories and tips for better coverage in 2020. By Barbara Gottschalk Find a story about standardized test score results — federal, state, or district-level — and chances are you’ll see something about the poor performance of […]| Kappan Online
English learners remain under-covered and subject to misleading news accounts, according to an expert teacher.By Barbara Gottschalk Two years ago, I wrote an article for The Grade on how to improve coverage of English-language learners. In it, I recommended more accurate representation of ELLs and complained about misleading stories on “bogus EL/non-EL achievement gaps.” Much […]| Kappan Online
A Q&A with the Boston Globe’s Bianca Vázquez Toness and Jenna Russell about their much-admired recent story, A year of grit and despair. By Colleen Connolly Writing about students who are both immigrants and English language learners is one of the most difficult tasks for education journalists. Maybe they don’t speak their sources’ primary language. […]| Kappan Online
We “EL advocates/SoR critics” have articulated very clearly and openly the rationale for our opposition to Science of Reading legislation, which is not a critique of the research itself.| Kappan Online
Misplaced concerns about English learners and the science of reading are slowing progress, says former Stanford professor Claude Goldenberg. Vigilant journalism is the key to addressing the confusion. By Alexander Russo While it might seem like the literacy reform movement has become something of a juggernaut, that’s not entirely the case. Several states — California […]| Kappan Online
Adopting a new, “science-based” methodology is not enough to address students’ difficulties with reading. Over the last several years, the field of literacy instruction has come to focus a great deal of attention on what’s known as the science of reading (SoR) — which emphasizes systematic instruction in phonemic awareness, phonics, reading fluency, vocabulary, and […]| Kappan Online
