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Research Wednesday
Fearless Leadership
Here is a quick excerpt from my new book, Fearless Leadership, that might be useful in your discussions with school and district leaders. It has to do with how leaders and governing board members can deal with public participation in board meetings:
We follow the principle to first seek to understand, and then seek to be understood.
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Research Wednesday
The Continued Impact of Chronic Absenteeism
The continued impact of chronic absenteeism:
A terrific report (January 16, 2025) from researchers at Johns Hopkins demonstrates that the lingering effects of school closures during the pandemic remain years after schools reopened. Chronic absenteeism overwhelms faculty and staff, and the negative effects are not only on those students who fail to come to school, but also on students who attend school.
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Research Wednesday
Professional Development
I have attempted to separate these updates from politics, but this week’s news went over the line. The Administration is asking the Supreme Court to approve the Administration’s decision to cancel professional development for teachers that has already been approved by Congress.
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Research Wednesday
Empathy
I am always humbled when I read thoughtful researchers who disagree with me. Yale Professor Paul Bloom writes in his controversial book “Against Empathy” that the pendulum has swung too far from overly demanding parents (see his “Tiger Mom” colleague also at Yale) to the snowplow parents of today.
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Research Wednesday
Reading Requires Real Books
This week’s evidence focuses on the fact that real reading requires real books, and it’s not too late to stop the madness of technology substitutes. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress results are miserable – and we can’t just blame it all on COVID and TikTok. Students spend 8 hours a day on screens, and some schools are succumbing to the siren song of letting tech substitute for reading literacy.
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Blogs
Return on Investment: How Schools Can Support Investments in Professional Learning
School leaders are understandably worried about budget cuts and policymakers’ concerns about how they can justify spending taxpayer dollars on professional learning. Here are seven ways to show skeptical board members and policymakers that investing in professional learning provides a great return on investment.
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Research Wednesday
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
This week’s evidence comes from the recently released National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, often called the “Nation’s Report Card.” Cuts in the US Department of Education, especially in research, may make this the last NAEP report we’ll see for a while. Therefore, it is worth taking a hard look at the data.
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Research Wednesday
E-reader Libraries as Intervention
Today’s research update has surprising (at least to me) findings. It’s from The Johns Hopkins University’s “Best Evidence in Brief” series and always features a variety of US and international research. This study of 1,000 11 to 12-year-old low-income students found that when they had access to e-readers at home (their home access to books was very limited), the students selected their own books and received recommendations from teachers. The
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Research Wednesday
Social Sciences Under Attack
This week’s evidence discusses how the social sciences – including educational psychology, economics, political science, and many other fields students need – are under attack. This is not a new development, but the enthusiasm for diminishing scientific inquiry of all sorts has accelerated with the recent election results.
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Research Wednesday
How Students Study
This week’s evidence shows how a solid research finding can have a global impact. A new study from the UK about how students study. The results are remarkably similar to what our friend and neighbor Pooja Argawal (Powerful Teaching) has found. The bottom line is that we know what study strategies work, and yet students are stubbornly indifferent to these strategies.
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Blogs
Beyond Phonics: Advancing Literacy for Lifelong Learning
A second grader recently asked his teacher, “We talk a lot about how to read, but when will we actually read?” This question, posed with innocent curiosity, underscores a critical issue in early literacy instruction. It reflects a growing phenomenon where young learners are spending significant time on the mechanics of reading—learning phonics, decoding words, and practicing letter-sound relationships—yet they long for the opportunity to engage in the true joy of reading.
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Blogs
What Learning Loss? How One Elementary School Increased Literacy Achievement from 68% to 92%
This week’s evidence is a timely reality for far too many. What should schools do if ICE agents arrive at the door? This thoughtful New York Times offers examples of how several school districts are developing protocols for this eventuality.
Creative Leadership Blog
CLS colleagues regularly publish on relevant topics for busy educators. Whether it is a book, article, or blog, each contains facts and practical next steps for practitioners. As with all our resources, please share with colleagues and communities.