This article was published in partnership with The Trace. Sign up for its newsletters here. With an infectious smile, 7-year-old Daniel Barden’s slow, steady drumbeat held together the fledgling family band. The quartet’s intimate performance had brought life to the Best Western hotel in Monticello, New York, where the Bardens gathered to celebrate a joyous milestone:...

During the pandemic, Los Angeles Unified’s Ninth Street Elementary School teachers saw their students attending remote classes from crowded and noisy shelters — or living with more than ten family members in a small room. Located in one of Los Angeles’ lowest income neighborhoods, Ninth Street Elementary enrolls students who live in the Fashion District...

School districts are facing the greatest educational challenge of the last 100 years — reversing pandemic-induced learning loss among tens of millions of students. It is a moment that demands innovative programs that will be sustained over time and lead to rapid and lasting improvements. But experience teaches that in the face of great need,...

With the nation’s schools facing acute teacher shortages, the GAO criticized the U.S. Department of Education’s strategy for not adequately addressing the crisis and guiding states’ in how to attract and retain more educators. As teachers nationwide face “an increasingly disrespectful and demanding school workplace culture,” and compensation concerns, the GAO charged in a report...

A new study commissioned by the Heckscher Foundation and conducted by Sage Education documents significant gains in college persistence as a result of a student emergency grants program and contains insights to help others implement similar programs. For the majority of underserved students in New York City who wish to attend college away from home, the State...

It has been 30 years, but Robert Whitman still remembers the impact his high school teacher and football coach had on him, sparking his interest in education as a career. At a school with few Black students or faculty, Whitman saw himself reflected through educator Rhodes Williams —who served as a mentor in Whitman’s academic...

Let me get this hard sell on the table right up front: You should listen to “Sold a Story,” a podcast about reading instruction in U.S. schools. After all, you can be concerned that 1 in 3 American fourth graders read below a basic level and still not want a deep dive into how literacy...

Last month’s national assessment of fourth-grade reading — the first since children’s lives and schooling were disrupted by the pandemic — revealed the largest decline in reading performance in 30 years. Given the troubling reality that only one-third of students were proficient in reading by fourth grade before the pandemic, and even lower percentages for low-income children...

The recent scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress are the latest indication of what we in the Los Angeles Unified School District already know — our students are demonstrating tremendous resiliency after the pandemic because of the incredible educators dedicating their time and energy to the families of Los Angeles. The tests, which...

Last month, California released long held student data. And while standardized test scores don’t tell us everything, they do provide an important touchpoint to hold our school districts accountable for delivering an equitable and excellent education for all students.  Here are four things our school system should do with this new 2021-22 school-level data: Re-engage...