March is National Women’s History Month. In recognition, LA School Report is sharing stories of remarkable women who transformed U.S. education. These women educated black students after the Civil War, took in millions of immigrants despite anti-newcomer sentiments, and advocated for women’s right to higher education when major universities shut them out. Many female teachers have...

Marc Brackett still remembers sitting in his New Jersey middle school classroom, clutching his down vest protectively as classmates wrote cruel words on the fabric. The first thing on his mind was why the teacher was doing nothing to help him. The last thing on his mind was the day’s math lesson. In a sense,...

When Nilda Irizarry was a sophomore in her Springfield, Massachusetts, high school, she didn’t raise her hand and she didn’t participate in class discussions. Although she loved learning, she was certain she didn’t fit in. But her teacher Patricia Gardner saw something very different. One day, she pulled Irizarry aside and asked why she didn’t...

If state leaders want more student-driven learning in classrooms, creating policies that support teachers is critical. That’s according to a new report from iNACOL, a nonprofit that supports competency-based education. The report outlines five recommendations for state policy leaders on how to help develop teachers so they’re prepared for competency-based instruction. “We can talk about...

In what’s been described as a landmark investment from the federal government in social-emotional learning, the House of Representatives approved a spending bill last month that included $260 million in funding for what it calls “whole child” initiatives within the Department of Education. The funding is divided into four areas: 1. $170 million through the Education...