While COVID-19-related school closures in spring 2020 challenged every school district, students in rural districts faced especially significant barriers. In particular, lack of consistent internet limited their access to online instruction.
These gaps in access to the internet and instruction were evident in our research. However, we also found that rural districts devised innovative strategies to help put materials and instruction in the hands of students.
The start of the next school year is approaching quickly, and many districts plan to start remotely. Ensuring...
On the other side of the country, another effort, housed at Harvard University, is also helping districts tackle chronic absenteeism. Started in 2015, the Proving Ground program helps school districts leverage data to design, plan, implement and test interventions to improve learning outcomes. The program has 59 school district partners, most of them in New York and Ohio.
One of its first successful intervention programs involved weekly postcards sent home...
To address concerns about cost and effectiveness, Kraft and Harvard University education professor Heather C. Hill created and studied a virtual math-coaching program that could potentially be a cheaper way for districts to have dedicated math coaches. The program was based on a framework that was co-developed by researchers at Harvard and the American Institutes for Research. It centered on practices aligned to the Common Core State Standards, such as rich meaning-making and encouraging student questions.
Proving Ground Director David Hersch and NCRERN Director Jennifer Ash launch a new series, "Improving Improvement," in NNERPP Extra focused on leveraging the power of research-practice partnerships (RPPs) to build schools’, districts’, and states’ capacity to improve.... Read more about Improving Improvement: Introduction
