For 60 years, NASBE has served as the only membership organization for state boards of education. A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, NASBE elevates state board members’ voices in national and state policymaking, facilitates the exchange of informed ideas, and supports members in advancing equity and excellence in public education for students of all races, genders, and circumstances.
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Mission: The National Association of State Boards of Education develops, supports, and empowers citizen leaders on state boards of education to strengthen public education systems so students of all backgrounds and circumstances are prepared to succeed in school, work, and life.
Operating as usual
In the new NASBE Standard, Fern Desjardins, state board member from Maine, weighs in on the importance having a rural perspective on the board. More, along with thoughts from Robin Stevens (Nebraska), and Sandra Kowalski (Alaska), here: https://www.nasbe.org/the-nasbe-interview-fern-desjardins-robin-stevens-and-sandra-kowalski/
Join us a week from today for our next webinar - Acceleration vs. Remediation: Research-Driven Strategies to Address Learning Loss
Dr. Kristen Huff, vice president of assessment and research at Curriculum Associates, will highlight tools to help teachers and schools identify student learning gaps and accelerate individualized instruction. Dr. David Steiner, a former Maryland state board member and executive director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy, will present evidence on effective catch-up learning strategies. Brown University Associate Professor of Education and Economics Dr. Matthew A. Kraft will discuss high-dosage tutoring at scale, a strategy being pursued in England and the Netherlands.
Learn more and register here: https://www.nasbe.org/event/acceleration-vs-remediation-research-driven-strategies-to-address-learning-loss/
New issue of The State Education Standard is out and it's all about rural schools!
Rural schools are accustomed to making a little go a long way, but the pandemic has increased the burden. The new #NASBEStandard explores unique challenges of rural education, from a lack of resources to teacher shortages and student wellness, and how state policymakers can begin to address them.
Read the full issue: https://www.nasbe.org/equity-in-rural-education/
We love these remarks by North Carolina state board chair Eric Davis... Bravo to the board for reaffirming a commitment to #educationequity at the start of a new year and a new chief partnership.
“We remain determined to recreate our public school system to better serve all students and to make our state, especially our public school students, stronger and more resilient. During this time of great opportunity, we must work to clearly articulate the established vision of our public education system. And we will do so in partnership with Superintendent (Catherine) Truitt to ensure the established priorities are fulfilled given the executive, legislative, and judicial commitments to ensure a sound basic education for all.
“This transition provides us a unique opportunity to align budget priorities for the upcoming legislative session. Combined with the federal funding that our state and district will receive to address needs identified due to COVID, it’s essential that we not only address immediate needs, but that we also use this opportunity to make systemic, structural, and long-term improvements in every school across our state.
“We’re excited about the opportunities and challenges before us. Transition provides an opportunity to make needed change and to take a fresh, new perspective with increased vigor and innovation in our work. Throughout the various transitions of new staff, responding to COVID, creating new initiatives, we remain fully committed to the guiding principles established by this Board in our strategic plan. And while there remain differences of opinion, we choose to see those differences, like all of our differences, as a source of strength, and remain committed to patient, open, and transparent dialogue, to develop solutions for the benefit of every student we serve in North Carolina, grounded firmly in equity and whole child, knowing that working together we can do the hard work and achieve amazing results by remaining student-centered.”
Full recap of the meeting, and opening remarks here: https://www.ednc.org/2021-01-07-nc-state-board-education-social-studies-standards-update/
More on the North Carolina's equity work here: https://www.nasbe.org/state-boards-advance-equity-agendas-in-challenging-times/
In an email to members, NASBE President and CEO Robert Hull reflects on the horrific events that occurred at the U.S. Capitol this week. Read his full statement here: https://www.nasbe.org/nasbe-president-statement-on-horrific-events-at-u-s-capitol/
"It is time for all those who seek to safeguard liberty and a free and good government to rededicate themselves to educating all students to be thoughtful engaged citizens."
Past NASBE chair Jay Barth on why its important for state boards of education to ask questions that can advance equity and shape #civics education.
Read our analysis here: https://www.nasbe.org/five-questions-state-boards-should-ask-about-civics-education-reform/
NASBE members: Are you joining us for our first "office hours" of 2021? It's this Thursday! Representatives from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will join us to review the latest guidance for schools around COVID-19 and take your questions. You must be a NASBE member to attend. Contact Renee Lang at [email protected] for login details!
Happy Holidays from NASBE! Our warmest wishes for the holiday season and for a prosperous new year.
We are excited to make our 2020 Annual Conference sessions freely available to NASBE members and the broader public! They are just too good not to share! Finds sessions on equity, teacher diversity, assessment, early literacy and remote learning, digital access, whole child policy, and more here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYcclm75ugwvYc_z073vFXQ
We analyzed state election 2020 results, plus changes in 61 state board of education seats in 12 states and territories that were on the ballot. Voters in most states opted for steady leadership. As far as state boards go, 22 incumbents will return to their board role, while 39 new board members join the ranks. Full breakdown here (Plus handy chart!!) - https://www.nasbe.org/steady-leadership-for-state-education-after-2020-elections/
This NASBE analysis outlines outcomes from major state election races in 2020 and changes in 61 state board of education…
NASBE President and CEO Robert Hull sat down with the The Wallace Foundation to discuss budget shortfalls due to the pandemic and how state leaders are meeting the challenges ahead.
"First and foremost, leadership matters," says Hull. "For pandemic response, states are in the driver's seat. On budget, we see states making cuts, but they're trying to do so in a very evidence-based way."
Read and watch more here: https://www.wallacefoundation.org/news-and-media/blog/pages/with-equity-in-mind-school-leaders-address-state-budget-cuts.aspx
Your source for research and ideas to expand high quality learning and enrichment opportunities. Supporting: School Leadership, After School, Summer and Extended Learning Time, Arts Education and Building Audiences for the Arts.
Election season is a good time for state boards of education to ask questions that can advance equity and shape #civics education. Past NASBE chair Jay Barth comes up with five questions to guide this work. Read the analysis here:
https://www.nasbe.org/five-questions-state-boards-should-ask-about-civics-education-reform/
Ready for Day 2 of #NASBE20? We're excited to kick things off w/ #NTOY20 Tabatha Rosproy on #earlyeducation. Later, #Literacy in an online environment w/ Nell Duke, Tim Shanahan, Aaron Grossman & Tanji Reed Marshall . #Elections20 w/ Carl Cannon and Reg Leichty and #WholeChild w/ Dr. Benard Dreyer
TODAY is the day! Are you joining us for #NASBE20? We are excited for today's sessions. Kicking off w/ a conversation on #edequity with Ibram X. Kendi and John King, followed by Linda Darling-Hammond, Eric Davis and Darren Reisberg. Later, sessions on educator diversity, digitial learning, and assessment and accountability. There's still time to join us!
Details here: https://www.nasbe.org/event/annual-conference-2020/
During #NASBE20, three state leaders will share what they've learned about baking #equity into state board agendas: CA's Linda Darling-Hammond, Illinois's Darren Reisberg, and North Carolina's Eric Davis. Don't miss out! Register here: https://www.nasbe.org/event/annual-conference-2020/
Have your registered for our upcoming virtual Annual Conference yet? Don't miss out on terrific sessions like these:
Education Equity Conversation w/ Ibram X. Kendi and John B. King
Leading an Equity Agenda
Advancing Equity in Digital Learning
Shaping Policy through a Whole Child Lens
Literacy Instruction in an Online Environment
Increasing Workforce Diversity
Elections in 2020 and Governing in 2021
Assessment and Accountability Policy
Preparing Early Learners
And soooooo many more!
Register here: https://www.nasbe.org/event/annual-conference-2020/
New NASBE analysis outlines ways in which states such as Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Oregon, and Nebraska offer state guidance on reopening criteria.
“Creating clear, health-based criteria on when a school should reopen or suspend in-person learning can help districts and schools better communicate their decision making and connect stakeholders and experts,” says NASBE's Joseph Hedger.
Read more here: https://www.nasbe.org/states-set-criteria-for-resuming-in-person-learning/
Are you joining us for #NASBE20? Our first-ever virtual annual conference, October 20-23. We are honored to have historian and best-selling author Ibram X. Kendi join us for our opening conversation to discuss education equity with NASBE's Robert Hull and The Education Trust's John B. King.
Register here: https://www.nasbe.org/event/annual-conference-2020/
HOT of the presses! The new issue of #NASBEStandard helps state boards weigh state assessment systems. FutureEd's Lynn Olson, Thomas B. Fordham Institute's Checker Finn and Eric Hanushek (@HooverInstStanford), Chris Domaleski, NWEA's Abby Javurek and Jason Mendenhall, Ellen Forte, and Marianne Perie all contribute useful context for state education leaders as they make decisions about assessments and accountability amid the pandemic and school reopening.
Read on: https://www.nasbe.org/next-generation-assessment/
Reinventing School in the COVID Era and Beyond
The COVID-19 crisis creates an opportunity to reinvent more equitable and student-centered education systems. This framework provides a comprehensive guide to rethinking school.
COVID-19 has underscored the need for schools to reinvent a century-old system of education. Now and beyond, there are significant changes that policymakers and educators can make to ensure teaching and learning are equitable and empowering. A new report from the Learning Policy Institute provides an overarching framework of actions policymakers and educators can take to support equitable, effective teaching and learning whether in person or online. The framework provides research, state and local examples, and policy recommendations in 10 key areas for transforming learning and closing opportunity and achievement gaps.
Read it here: http://bit.ly/restartreinvent
As schools reopen, policymakers and educators have an opportunity to reimagine education to create safe, student-centered, and equitable learning through 10 key areas.
The Centers For Disease Control (CDC)'s Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors six categories of health-related behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults. It's the nation’s most comprehensive data about health risks and experiences among youth. The 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey results are now available and will serve as a baseline for how #COVID19 has impacted high school students. And it can help inform reopening efforts.
The Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) monitors six types of health-risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death and disability among youth and adults, including behaviors that contribute to unintentional injuries and violence; sexual behaviors that contribute to uninte...
This is why #StudentVoice in state policymaking is so important! Check out this statement by New Jersey's student member, Sabrina Capoli. She surveyed her peers to get a sense of the pandemic's impact on students and how they're feeling about a return to school:
"The New Jersey Department of Education has been committed to promoting social and emotional learning in schools in the past, but I believe that I speak on behalf of every student in New Jersey when I stress that this commitment is more important now than ever before. This pandemic has taken everything from us. For many of us, this virus has stolen precious moments from our hands that we will never get back."
Bravo, Sabrina!
The newest student representative to the state Board of Education discusses the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has negatively affected NJ students.
Always nice to catch up with our members on NASBE's "office hours" to discuss what's top of mind for state boards of education! If you're a member of NASBE, watch out for an email about our next office hour in September!
Rachel McCusker is the Maryland State Board of Education's first teacher member. She was elected by her peers to serve and joined the board earlier this year. Maryland is one of six states with a voting teacher member.
"Being the educator voice on the board ... ensures the work of the board is focused on students' potential and achievement, is more responsive to critical needs, and drives policy that is effective and achievable."
Read more from our analysis on #TeacherVoice - https://www.nasbe.org/involving-teachers-in-state-education-governance/
"Intention is not enough. Results from policy happen in the classroom. If state boards are leaving out the teacher perspective, then they are reducing the effectiveness of the policy. You have to have the voice of the practioner." - Wyoming State Board Chair (and Teacher Rep) Ryan Furhman on the advantages of having a teacher serve on the board.
Read more from "Involving Teachers in State Education Governance": https://www.nasbe.org/involving-teachers-in-state-education-governance/.
Policy decisions affect teachers deeply, yet the conversations that shape those policies lack adequate teacher representation. That's changing as a growing number of state boards of education are now involving teachers in policymaking decisions. Specifically, 14 states require that current teachers have a seat at the board table.
Read our new analysis here: https://www.nasbe.org/involving-teachers-in-state-education-governance/
Our new policy update outlines trends in state reopening guidance for the 2020–21 school year. Among the trends: Stakeholder engagement✔️ Multiple approaches to learning ✔️ and Focus on equity✔️ Procedures/planning for future emergencies✔️
Author Joseph Hedger points out that school reopening plans will evolve as new research becomes available and local conditions change. “In a charged political environment, policymakers will need to be prepared to effectively communicate new decisions made at national, state, and district levels,” he writes.
Read on: https://www.nasbe.org/states-make-plans-for-reopening/
Our old friend Kris Amundson is out with an editorial arguing schools and communities need a greater sense of urgency about helping students as we move into the new school year.
Because I have been quarantining pretty seriously since March, it was not until late May that I drove past my local public library. The parking lot nearly was full.
Are you joining us today for our webinar on Remote Learning for Early Childhood? Should be a great conversation. Details here: https://www.nasbe.org/event/designing-effective-remote-learning-for-young-students/
Remote learning is hardest on our youngest students. Our new policy update focuses on the efforts of some states to make remote learning effective for young learners amid the pandemic.
Read "Remote Learning in Early Childhood." >>
https://www.nasbe.org/remote-learning-in-early-childhood/
Bonus: attend our webinar on this topic next week on June 30 >> https://www.nasbe.org/event/designing-effective-remote-learning-for-young-students/
New from NASBE: Six Questions State Boards Should Ask to Foster Effective Digital Learning
"When the worst of the pandemic has subsided, students will still face a landscape in which the workplace has shifted significantly. By convening and asking questions to assess the nature of technology use in their state contexts, state boards can take steps toward narrowing the digital use divide and ensure that the state’s educational programs prepare all students with the skills they need to succeed.”
Read more: https://www.nasbe.org/six-questions-state-boards-should-ask-to-foster-effective-digital-learning/
For 60 years, NASBE has served as the only membership organization for state boards of education. A nonpartisan, nonprofit organization, NASBE elevates state board members’ voices in national and state policymaking, facilitates the exchange of informed ideas, and supports members in advancing equity and excellence in public education for students of all races, genders, and circumstances. Learn more at www.nasbe.org.
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