POLICY PAPERS

The COVID-19 crisis has brought school closures to every state in the country; district, charter, and private schools alike have scrambled to provide remote learning in short order. While the current restrictions on student learning will not last forever, the consequences of the crisis on students’ academic progress—let alone on their and their families’ economic and emotional wellbeing—are likely to persist well into the future. How can school systems prepare for what will be anything but business as usual?

Research shows that teachers are most effective when they have access to a high-quality curriculum, ongoing professional development that helps them use that curriculum well, and student data from standards-aligned assessments. This coherent academic vision of aligned curriculum, assessments, and professional learning is focused on providing every educator with the tools and resources to meet the needs of all students.

This document is a road map for establishing a strong academic system of standards and instructional materials, professional learning, and assessment.

The Chiefs for Change report, "Choosing Wisely: How States Can Help Districts Adopt High-Quality Instructional Materials," describes reasons why states with curriculum oversight often fail to prevent the use of poor materials. The report also outlines recommendations that states can follow to promote the use of excellent curriculum and related professional learning.

The call to action is straightforward: At every level, policy makers, stakeholders, and current education leaders can serve students better by investing in and drawing from new and stronger career pathways, superintendent-development programs, and coaching trees within districts and state education agencies. America’s public education system needs a stronger bench of courageous and effective systems leaders. But that won’t happen until we prioritize diverse education system leadership and develop it.

Under the sustained leadership of two Chiefs for Change Members, Commissioners Kevin Huffman and Candice McQueen, Tennessee has made truly impressive progress in student achievement over the better part of the past decade which is a testament to the vision for and dedication to their teacher empowerment work. The Tennessee Department of Education made it a priority to incorporate teacher voice into a variety of initiatives aimed at improving schools and the teaching practice. The statewide efforts, which provide support for district-led programs, have empowered teachers to take ownership of policy, curriculum, technology use, and data through a “network of networks.” At a time when the state was working to improve standards and raise expectations across the board, teacher leadership was key to successfully developing, launching, and sustaining reform efforts.

Sustained, Bold Reform: Investing in Teacher Leadership in New Mexico draws lessons from the distinct approach used by New Mexico Education Secretary Hanna Skandera and her successor Christopher Ruszkowski, both Chiefs for Change members, to modernize and elevate the teaching profession, providing an in-depth analysis of the state’s successful model for teacher leadership. With the state agency as a case study, this brief lends an insider view of the structures, systems, metrics, policies, and programs developed in the Land of Enchantment to empower teachers as leaders, advocates, and trusted partners in school and system improvement. Bold leadership, sustained over time – and the coaching trees that help to ensure sustained leadership – matter.

A relatively nascent but powerful body of research suggests that content-rich, standards-aligned, and high-quality curricula exert a powerful influence on student achievement. There is also early evidence that switching to a high-quality curriculum may be a more cost-effective way to raise student achievement than several other school-level interventions. Leading states and districts – from New York to Louisiana to Washington, D.C. – are showing how smart strategies can be used to ensure that high-quality standards are matched with high-quality instructional materials, leading to strong student outcomes – without trampling on local control of education.

School systems throughout the country are working to establish avenues for teacher leadership, but often lack powerful models to guide action. This policy brief from Chiefs for Change offers a view into some of the most promising efforts, and perspectives on how others can learn from those models. "The Case for Teacher Leadership" draws lessons from distinct approaches by Chiefs for Change members — Louisiana, New Mexico, and Tennessee — to elevate the teaching profession. It also lays out a five-stage continuum for meaningful teacher leader engagement.

The Title II program under ESSA continues to focus on raising student achievement by improving the quality of teachers, principals, and other school leaders, and affords significant flexibility for states and districts to carry out a wide variety of activities, consistent with their specific needs. These opportunities are significant, as in 2016 $2.34 billion was appropriated for Title II. This brief provides specific pathways for states and districts to develop and implement programming in a strategic and collaborative manner in order to better prepare, develop, recruit, retain, and ensure equitable access to our strongest educators.