Frontline Blog

Now that all 50 ESSA plans have been approved by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, we have a clearer window into each state's accountability roadmap and goals, including strategies to meet the requirement of providing struggling learners with evidence-based interventions.

How well are school systems in America measuring up to ESSA’s definition of professional development? Is professional learning “data-driven” and “classroom-focused”? That question is at the heart of Bridging the Gap, a series of reports from the Frontline Research & Learning Institute. Bridging the Gap looks at anonymized data from the professional development experiences of educators across the country and asks, “How close are we to this ideal?”  

President Trump’s budget proposes massive spending cuts to critical—but often overlooked—funding for the preparation, training and recruitment of high-quality teachers. Title IIa of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, funded at over $2 billion for the last 15 years, including upwards of $2.9 billion under the Bush-era No Child Left Behind Act, would be cut to nothing. 

It happens to all of us, every day. Even though we know the “correct” course of action, we take the path of least resistance. We may even have a reasonable excuse. You know the drill: I know I should get up early to go to the gym. But it’s been a tough week at work – I deserve the extra rest. Then we’re surprised when we don’t get the desired results, because while the excuse may be valid, it doesn’t help us stay in shape.