White Papers

• ESSA: An Opportunity for American Educators - Solution Tree
• Fostering Student Engagement in the Mathematical Practices Provided by Curriculum Associates - Curriculum Associates
• Six ways to shore up equitable instruction in a tiered curriculum - McGraw-Hill Education
• Power in Numbers: Coaching to Lead School Teams - NYC Leadership Academy
• Strengthen your district volunteer program - VolunteerNow
• Meeting the Promise of Continuous Improvement - AdvancED
• Different Approaches to Improve Formative Assessments - DreamBox
• Developing Teacher Leaders to Transform Teaching and Learning - Capella University
• The Success Behind Teacher Collaboration: Leveraging Teacher Expertise to Drive School Innovation - Corwin
• Guide to Meeting the Next Generation Science Standards - Defined STEM
• The New Mindframe on Assessment - Corwin
• Creating Multi-Tiered, Equitable Instruction: 6 Strategies - McGraw-Hill Education
• How a District used eBooks to Evolve & Remain Competitive - OverDrive Education
• The Science Behind Student Engagement - Pearson
• Why K-12 Cybersecurity Involves More Than Just CIPA Compliance - iboss Cybersecurity
• Assessment is Everything - Instructure
• Creating A Robust STEM Program - Discovery
• How the Right Technology Keeps Students Engaged - itslearning
• Guide to Choosing Digital Content and Curriculum - Dreambox

ESSA: An Opportunity for American Educators

Sponsor: Solution Tree Posted: April 18, 2018

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) provides an opportunity for increased student achievement across the United States by allowing states a greater degree of freedom and control over public K-12 education. To take advantage of this opportunity, states must abandon the thinking that led to the failure of previous reforms such as No Child Left Behind and instead embrace a new mindset about the most promising strategies for improving schools. That new mindset must include supporting teacher collaboration, establishing clarity of purpose, providing ongoing feedback, creating conditions that allow educators to succeed, and sustaining improvement through the PLC process.

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Fostering Student Engagement in the Mathematical Practices Provided by Curriculum Associates

Sponsor: Curriculum Associates Posted: April 16, 2018

Research suggests promoting deeper, more sustained learning by having students participate in a routine of problem-solving followed by instruction. By actively engaging students in problem-solving and discussion, this instructional routine can help them understand and remember mathematics concepts.
This whitepaper examines:
• Planning for productive mathematics discussions
• Selecting student work for classroom discussion
• Sequencing student work to support meaningful classroom discussion
• Questions to consider when selecting and sequencing student strategies

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Six ways to shore up equitable instruction in a tiered curriculum

Sponsor: McGraw-Hill Education Posted: April 15, 2018

Every student both struggles and excels in his or her own way. By designing multi-tiered instructional frameworks with competency and equity in mind, K-12 educators can provide students with differentiated instruction—including remediation, acceleration, and other academic supports—at exactly the right time, and in the right measures, to meet individual learning goals.
Educational leaders can consider six actionable strategies when creating curriculum programs to serve increasingly diverse and special populations of students, close performance gaps, and ensure achievement for all. Schools and districts that apply these strategies can potentially gain an advantage when it comes to addressing all students’ academic needs.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Power in Numbers: Coaching to Lead School Teams

Sponsor: NYC Leadership Academy Posted: April 15, 2018

Schools with strong teams of educators can improve instruction in ways that a principal working on her own cannot. Leading effective teams is not easy, however, and principals need particular skills to do it well. A principal coach can play a critical role in helping school leaders build capacity to do this work.
Power in Numbers: Coaching principals to build teams that transform schools serves as a guide for anyone who coaches principals, laying out what principals need to know and be able to do to lead teams effectively, and how coaches can effectively support principals in building their capacity to lead teams.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Strengthen your district volunteer program

Sponsor: VolunteerNow Posted: April 1, 2018

A standardized, district-wide volunteer program allows teachers and administrators to focus on the future: our children. Supporting students and teachers through community engagement does not have to be complicated. Successful volunteer programs bridge the gap in funding and staffing, and allow children to feel connected and supported. From writing great volunteer opportunities to reporting hours, the structure of your district’s volunteer program can make-or-break volunteer impact. This guide can help your district create an easy-to-use, efficient and powerful volunteer program, designed by national volunteerism experts.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Meeting the Promise of Continuous Improvement

Sponsor: AdvancED Posted: April 1, 2018

This paper provides education leaders with a research-based overview of continuous improvement (CI). It offers insights into what successful schools do well and where schools, even the highest performing ones, need to improve. It explains some of the reasons why despite the common use of CI language and practices, school and system efforts often fall short. Then, it outlines the key components of an effective continuous improvement process in a school setting and introduces the AdvancED Continuous Improvement System, including its research-based elements and processes.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Different Approaches to Improve Formative Assessment

Sponsor: DreamBox Posted: April 1, 2018

This free toolkit offers popular pieces from experienced educators (former Superintendents, Teachers and Curriculum Designers) with new ideas and tips on applying assessment in innovative ways. Learn how to use formative assessments for collaborative learning, support challenged and advanced learners, and tips to accelerate algebraic thinking.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Developing Teacher Leaders to Transform Teaching and Learning

Sponsor: Capella University Posted: April 1, 2018

Teacher leaders are arguably the most important factor in driving digital teaching and learning transformation. For long-term success, schools and districts need to cultivate a pipeline of competent teacher leaders who are trained to share their on-the-ground experience and play an active role in peer-to-peer learning and support. But today, teacher shortages, antiquated professional development models, and the lack of incentives and recognition are standing in the way. Read more about how education leaders can create environments that support, train and recognize teacher leaders—and how Capella University can help provide solutions for sustaining a teacher leader ecosystem.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

The Success Behind Teacher Collaboration: Leveraging Teacher Expertise to Drive School Innovation

Sponsor: Corwin Posted: March 22, 2018

Students across the country are struggling to be successful, and so are teachers. The Impact Team Model guides teacher teams on how to create a school culture in which teachers and students are partners, working together to build student ownership. In this whitepaper, learn how teacher teams can target the areas that have the highest impact and put the focus back where it belongs: on student learning.

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Guide to Meeting the Next Generation Science Standards

Sponsor: Defined STEM Posted: March 15, 2018

The Next Generation Science Standards require educators to shift their classroom focus from transmission of information to application of knowledge through real-world experiences. While the benefits are clear, how to meet these standards presents educators with a new set of challenges. Download this guide to learn how to help students apply their knowledge and meet the performance expectations of the NGSS through authentic performance tasks.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

The New Mindframe on Assessment

Sponsor: Corwin Posted: March 15, 2018

John Hattie’s new mindframes for Visible Learning research identifies “Assessment shows me my effect” as a shift in thinking about the value of classroom assessment. The new mindframe suggests that when thinking about assessment, including formative assessments, as a reflection of a teacher’s effort more than the students’ it turns assessment into a positive force for designing instruction. This experience is described by one school district who implemented the Common Formative Assessments 2.0 process as they dived deeper into their implementation of Visible Learning.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Creating Multi-Tiered, Equitable Instruction: 6 Strategies

Sponsor: McGraw-Hill Education Posted: March 1, 2018

Every student both struggles and excels in his or her own way. By designing multi-tiered instructional frameworks with competency and equity in mind, K-12 educators can provide students with differentiated instruction—including remediation, acceleration, and other academic supports—at exactly the right time, and in the right measures, to meet individual learning goals.

Educational leaders can consider six actionable strategies when creating curriculum programs to serve increasingly diverse and special populations of students, close performance gaps, and ensure achievement for all. Schools and districts that apply these strategies can potentially gain an advantage when it comes to addressing all students’ academic needs.

Download Whitepaper
(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

How a District used eBooks to Evolve & Remain Competitive

Sponsor: OverDrive Education Posted: March 1, 2018

Located along Michigan’s southern border with Ohio, the Bedford Public Schools (BPS) recognized several years ago that to better prepare students for the future workforce, it must refocus on developing critically thinking problem solvers who can communicate effectively.

“It’s a cultural change we’ve gone through,” said Edward Manuszak, assistant superintendent of instructional and student services.

Implementation of a 1:1 Chromebook program for grades 3-12 would follow. With these new learning tools being put in place, BPS then sought a digital content provider that could offer titles aligned to the district’s curriculum.

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The Science Behind Student Engagement

Sponsor: Pearson Posted: March 1, 2018

Engaged students are those students who are actively learning. They are not passive, but are instead actively analyzing, comparing, collaborating, contributing, and creating. Online learning programs can be the key to foster student engagement through active learning tasks. Where are you on the shift to digital?

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Why K-12 Cybersecurity Involves More Than Just CIPA Compliance

Sponsor: iboss Cybersecurity Posted: February 15, 2018

At the very least, the policy must include the use of web filters that block potentially threatening content that could reach students by means of email, chat rooms, or other electronic communications. But what exactly qualifies as potentially threatening content in the realm of academia? Read this whitepaper to learn more.

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Assessment is Everything

Sponsor: Instructure Posted: February 5, 2018

Assessments measure student learning and provide a powerful means for improving achievement. Learn how Canvas provides a quick and easy way to make formative assessments.

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(Requires Adobe Acrobat Reader)

Creating A Robust STEM Program

Sponsor: Discovery Posted: February 1, 2018

Ask any educator about the importance of STEM, and their head will start to nod up and down before you can even finish asking the question. But ask the same people how to create a robust STEM program in their schools, and you're more likely to give them pause.

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How the Right Technology Keeps Students Engaged

Sponsor: itslearning Posted: February 1, 2018

Student Engagement: How the Right Technology Supports Pedagogy, Personalizes Learning, and Keeps Students Engaged. Using an enterprise-level Learning Management System, school districts can effectively address low student engagement while also offering a personalized learning environment and supporting pedagogy. Getting students interested, eager, and ready to learn at the beginning of class is one thing, but keeping that interest throughout the entire classroom period, while they’re doing their homework, as they complete online lessons, and while they study for exams is an entirely different challenge.

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Guide to Choosing Digital Content and Curriculum

Sponsor: Dreambox Posted: January 1, 2018

This resource is designed to address the challenges of moving from a print-based to a digital-based curriculum to help districts effectively make the transition. Through providing effective practices and resources for districts, this guide will allow you to plan for success, understand your digital and curriculum options, and implement your program with fidelity. Download this guide to help inform your digital content and curriculum strategy.

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