For the last decade, school districts have been struggling with teacher attrition rates, as the average “burnout” rate for incoming teachers has been approximately five to seven years. While state and local education agencies have been working on various strategies to get more teachers in the classroom, a new crisis has emerged: attrition in educational leadership.
Reinventing Professional Learning to Provide More Choice, Flexibility, Equity, and Work/Life Balance
In this Education Talk Radio interview on “Re-inventing Professional Learning to Provide more Choice, Flexibility, Equity, and Work/Life Balance,” host Larry Jacobs talks with Lisa Schmucki, the Founder and CEO of edWeb.net, and Larry Cocco, Senior Professional Learning Consultant for edWeb.net, about innovative ways that school districts are reinventing professional learning—for teachers, paras, and for all staff.
Developing good educator-family relationships seems like a daunting task. After all, teachers can have anywhere from 25-75 students across their classes, and the ratio for guidance counselors and administrators could be as high as 500:1. But engaging families and creating true partnerships with them results in better outcomes for everyone.
Research has shown that social-emotional learning (SEL) increases academic achievement, improves behavior, and contributes to the overall sense of well-being for students and teachers. However, we can’t teach what we don’t know, and so for that reason, SEL starts with adults.
Research shows that strong relationships with families optimize student progress. Luckily, family involvement is an essential element of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) that helps parents and caregivers support their children’s academic journey.
During the edLeader Panel “Inclusive Technology: Breaking Barriers and Empowering Learners,” prominent education leaders emphasized the critical role of integrating inclusive technology systems within schools. The discussion centered around the unveiling of the Center on Inclusive Technology & Education Systems (CITES) framework, an initiative supported by the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education Programs.
Typical conversations about education reform revolve around things like how we teach (education policy) or what we teach (the curriculum). But according to Dr. Ron Ritchhart, world-renowned educator, researcher, and author, and Francis Vigeant, KnowAtom’s Founder and CEO, changing the “what” and “how” in education doesn’t have nearly as much impact as looking at the “why.”
Inclusion in schools and districts requires multiple stakeholders. An intentional, communal approach to involving them in inclusivity efforts (especially crucial for the LGBTQIA+ student and teacher community) is essential.
Across the country, there are 36,000 teacher vacancies. That may not seem like a lot, given the over four million teachers in the U.S., but suppose you multiply the vacancies by the number of students in each classroom (an average of 25) where a teacher is unavailable. In that case, you can fathom the significant effect on learning and instruction.
edWeb.net was named the Best Collaborative Solution for Teachers at the 2023 SIIA CODiE Awards. The CODiE Awards recognize the most innovative education technology products and services in the U.S. and around the world. This is edWeb’s 10th SIIA CODiE Award.