Publications

This report by the School Leaders Network focuses on the need to prioritize principal retention and suggests shifting focus from creating a strong leader pipeline to addressing retention issues directly, such as providing principals more support and development. The report details the negative impacts that principal turnover or “churn” has on student outcomes and suggests ways to improve principal retention.

This report by Urban Teacher Residency United examines the important role that teacher residency plays in the teacher preparation process. Driven by research showing that teacher residencies are improving both student outcomes and teacher retention in rural and urban schools, the report takes an in-depth look at two Urban Teacher Residency United programs run by Aspire Public Schools and Denver Public Schools. 

Distinguishing flipped classrooms from Flipped Learning, this report by the Flipped Learning Network, George Mason University, and Pearson provides an overview of research and surveys on Flipped Learning, whereby students are provided with ways to learn subject content individually so that group learning time can be used for more interactive and applied activities as well as individualized or small-group instruction. 

This report by the Aspen Institute argues for a shift in school culture, making a case for the redistribution of leadership tasks to teachers. The strategy, aimed at teacher retention, offers teachers opportunities to participate in more leadership activities, thereby increasing their potential to move up the career ladder and ease the workload of the school principal. Profiles of innovative initiatives at school, district, and state levels are included.

This brief from the California Collaborative on District Reform considers how Garden Grove, a large urban district in California, implements a comprehensive system of human capital development using processes for getting great teachers and building teachers’ capacity, including through professional learning.

The National Center on Time and Learning produced case studies of four schools that have used increased time for teacher-led professional learning to improve school performance. 

This case study shows how Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools implemented new Opportunity Culture models that extend the reach of excellent teachers to more students, for more pay, within current budgets. The study shows how new Multi-Classroom Leadership and Time Swap models provide more planning, collaboration, and coteaching time for teachers and teacher leaders.  

This set of case studies from Education Resource Strategies (ERS) profiles four organizations that have implemented a strategic approach to teacher professional growth and support. Each case study describes the mission of the organization, the strategies it used to find time for professional learning, and its performance results, program costs, lessons learned, and next steps.

Learning Forward provides example schedules demonstrating various block scheduling options and ways schools have repurposed planning time, describing each school’s techniques for scheduling and their benefits. 

The National Association of Elementary School Principals presents options in this report to create time for professional development in elementary schools. It describes the reasoning behind these strategies and provides sample schedules demonstrating how schools create block schedules, use paraprofessionals, take advantage of events, reduce the school day, and expand time.