A Good Fit for All Kids

Collaborating to Teach Writing in Diverse, Inclusive Settings

Kelly Chandler-Olcott

A Good Fit for All Kids supports teachers in constructing research-based, collaborative approaches to teaching writing, in print and technology-mediated forms, for diverse, inclusive classrooms.

Broader, Bolder, Better

How Schools and Communities Help Students Overcome the Disadvantages of Poverty

Elaine Weiss and Paul Reville

In Broader, Bolder, Better, authors Elaine Weiss, of the Broader, Bolder Approach to Education campaign, and Paul Reville, former Massachusetts education secretary, make a compelling case for a fundamental change in the way we view education. The authors argue for a large-scale expansion of community-school partnerships in order to provide integrated student supports (ISS) from cradle to careers, including traditional wraparound services like mental health and nutrition supports, as well as early childhood education, afterschool and enrichment programs, and family supports.

Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning

Linda Darling-Hammond and Jeannie Oakes

Preparing Teachers for Deeper Learning answers an urgent call for teachers who educate children from diverse backgrounds to meet the demands of a changing world. In today’s knowledge economy, teachers must prioritize problem-solving ability, adaptability, critical thinking, and the development of interpersonal and collaborative skills over rote memorization and the passive transmission of knowledge. Authors Linda Darling-Hammond and Jeannie Oakes and their colleagues examine what this means for teacher preparation and showcase the work of programs that are educating for deeper learning, equity, and social justice.

Compete or Close

Traditional Neighborhood Schools Under Pressure

Julia A. McWilliams, Foreword by Maia Cucchiara

In districts from Chicago to New York to Washington, DC, neighborhood public schools are being forced to compete with charter schools for students and resources, often under the threat of school closure. In Compete or Close, Julia A. McWilliams provides a compelling ethnographic study of one such school, a neighborhood high school in Philadelphia—a district where rising privatization and chronic underfunding cast these common tensions into sharp relief. The book poses two questions: What strategies do schools deploy to minimize market risk and signal their value to stakeholders—district administrators, funders, parents, and students? And how do these strategies conflict with the schools’ mission to serve all children?

Fulfilling the Promise

Reimagining School Counseling to Advance Student Success

Mandy Savitz-Romer

In Fulfilling the Promise, Mandy Savitz-Romer shows what is possible when schools and districts draw upon the talents of their counselors and put them at the center of students’ school experience.

Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades

A Guide for Classroom Teachers and School Leaders

Penny A. Bishop, John M. Downes, and Katy Farber

Personalized Learning in the Middle Grades shows how teachers in grades 5–8 can leverage the use of personalized learning plans (PLPs) to increase student agency and engagement, helping youth to establish learning goals aligned with their interests and assess their own learning—particularly around essential skills that cut across disciplines.

Democratic Discord in Schools

Cases and Commentaries in Educational Ethics

Edited by Meira Levinson and Jacob Fay, Foreword by Margot Stern Strom and Adam Strom

Teaching in a democracy is challenging and filled with dilemmas that have no easy answers. For example, how do educators meet their responsibilities of teaching civic norms and dispositions while remaining nonpartisan? Democratic Discord in Schools features eight normative cases of complex dilemmas drawn from real events designed to help educators practice the type of collaborative problem solving and civil discourse needed to meet these challenges of democratic education. Each of the cases also features a set of six commentaries written by a diverse array of scholars, educators, policy makers, students, and activists with a range of political views to spark reflection and conversation.

Diverse Families, Desirable Schools

Public Montessori in the Era of School Choice

Mira Debs

In Diverse Families, Desirable Schools, Mira Debs offers a richly detailed study of public Montessori schools, which make up the largest group of progressive schools in the public sector. As public Montessori schools expand rapidly as alternatives to traditional public schools, the story of these schools, Debs points out, is a microcosm of the broader conflicts around public school choice.

Outside Money in School Board Elections

The Nationalization of Education Politics

Jeffrey R. Henig, Rebecca Jacobsen, and Sarah Reckhow

Outside Money in School Board Elections documents and analyzes the injection of external funding into local elections. Local school board contests have recently become flashpoints of national donor interest. Some observers see this engagement as a needed boost for complacent school districts while others view it as a threat to local democracy.

Distrust and Educational Change

Overcoming Barriers to Just and Lasting Reform

Katherine Schultz

Distrust characterizes much of the current political discourse in the United States today. It shapes our feelings about teachers, schools, and policies. In Distrust and Educational Change, Katherine Schultz argues that distrust—and the failure to recognize and address it—significantly contributes to the failure of policies meant to improve educational systems. The strategies the United States has chosen to enact reform engender distrust, and in so doing, undermine the conditions that enable meaningful educational change. In situations in which distrust—rather than trust—predominates, teachers and principals are reluctant to transform their educational practice.