News: School Policy

New Federal Government Report Finds that Disproportionate School Discipline Actions Persist with Black, Male, and Special Education Students (Part I)

Manipulating Policy, Buying Programs, and Following Federally-Funded Technical Assistance Centers Do Not WorkWhy be Surprised. . . about Why We Aren’t Succeeding?Dear Colleagues,Introduction On Apri...

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ESEA/ESSA Tells Schools and Districts: Build Your Own Multi-Tier System of Supports for Your Students’ Needs

Focus on Your Principles, Students, and Staff. . . and Verify the ESEA/ESSA “Guidance” Advocated by Some National GroupsIntroductionLast week, I was testifying as an expert witness in a Due Process He...

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Braiding Five Critical Concerns for Children: Reading Instruction, Grade Retention, Skill Remediation, Response-to-Intervention, and Chronic Absences

Why Effective Practice Needs to Dictate Good Policy (Rather than the Other Way Around)Dear Colleague,There are times in education where we get so focused on the individual trees in our forest, that we...

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National Policies, State Procedures, and Local Practices: Avoiding Untested Traps and Unhelpful Trends

Links to My “Most-Liked” Blogs: Effective Practice, Questionable Policies, and Unproven BandwagonsDear Colleague,Since 2003, I have been writing this Blog. . . analyzing essential policies and critica...

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Start the School Day Later? How Students Use their After-School Time, Media and Smartphones, and Opportunities to Sleep

Use Your Time to Read this Blog !!!Dear Colleagues,As we all take time this long holiday weekend to think about everything that we are thankful for, I’ve been thinking about the issue of time that kee...

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Want to Improve Student Learning? Look at your “Instructional Environments”

Standards Don’t Teach. . . Teachers Do! How to Improve Classroom SuccessDear Colleagues,It’s easy to get personally overwhelmed in today’s day and age. We are bombarded by the 24/7 news cycle, constan...

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