The following is a list of recent resources for those focused on the professional improvement of teachers, principals, and other educational leaders.

Transforming Teacher Preparation: How States are Leading the Way  While other careers may offer an ease-in policy or probationary period to get up to speed, as an educator, you are expected to know how to change the lives of human beings and are deemed responsible for their success beginning day one. Preparation programs try their best to emulate these expectations through rigorous coursework and student-teacher practicums. (Huffington Post)

50-State Comparison: Teacher License Reciprocity Teacher license reciprocity allows candidates who hold an out-of-state license to earn a license in a receiving state, subject to meeting state-specific requirements. Reciprocity agreements allow states to work through variations in licensing systems to coordinate license transfers and fill vacant teaching positions with qualified candidates. Most states have policies in place to improve reciprocity for certain teachers, but few states provide full reciprocity for all fully licensed teachers.

Study: Teacher Leadership Can Help Raise Student Achievement  Amid growing efforts to give teachers more opportunities to lead without leaving the classroom, a new report supported by the Carnegie Foundation finds student achievement is at least 10% higher in both math and English language arts in schools with high levels of instructional and teacher leadership. (Education Dive)

School Choice and Equity: Current Policies in OECD Countries and a Literature Review  This report discusses the most relevant issues concerning school choice schemes, and how they intertwine with equity considerations, through a literature review and analysis of the effects different types of school choice programmes have on equity. In the last 25 years, more than two-thirds of OECD countries have increased school choice opportunities for parents. The empirical evidence reviewed here reveals that providing full parental school choice results in further student segregation between schools, by ability, socio-economic and ethnic background, and in greater inequities across education systems. The report identifies certain characteristics of programmes that can prevent schools from hand-picking their students – crowding out disadvantaged and low performing students. As school choice is here to stay, countries should explore choice designs that balance parents’ freedom to choose with equity considerations: this report develops two particular schemes: controlled choice programmes – also called flexible enrolment schemes – and weighted funding formula.

Confirmation Hearing Scheduled for Nominees for Five Positions at U.S. Departments of Education and Labor  The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee held a confirmation hearing on November 15 for nominees for two positions at the U.S. Department of Labor and three positions at the U.S. Department of Education, including Timothy Kelly, who was nominated to be Assistant Secretary For Career, Technical, and Adult Education.

School Data Parents Want Most Comes from Their Child’s Teacher  Despite the range of data points in state report cards, surveys show parents don’t rely on state information to judge their schools. In a recent poll of K-8 parents by Learning Heroes, a nonprofit that informs parents how to support their kids in school, more than three out of four parents said their child is getting a good education and two-thirds say their child is above average academically. How can states use this information to make school data more functional for parents? (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)

AACTE InTouch: ‘What Makes a Good Teacher?’  Did you know AACTE produces a mini-documentary series called AACTE InTouch? These brief videos introduce the public to key messages about quality, advocacy, partnerships, and innovation in education and educator preparation. AACTE’s Jerrica Thurman invites you to view and share the debut segment, “What Makes a Good Teacher?”

The Evidence Base for How We Learn: Supporting Students’ Social, Emotional, and Academic Development This brief draws from brain science, medicine, economics, psychology, and education research to describe why it is essential to address the social, emotional, and cognitive dimensions of learning; how these dimensions together shape students’ academic and life outcomes; and how these competencies can be taught throughout childhood, adolescence, and beyond. The authors present evidence that the nation should move beyond the debate as to whether schools should attend to students’ social and emotional development, to how schools can integrate social, emotional, and academic development into their daily work. The brief presents a set of consensus statements that affirm the interconnectedness of social, emotional, and academic development as central to the learning process. (Aspen Institute)

Strategies for Building a Diverse School District  Schools want teaching staff to reflect students’ racial and religious makeup. (District Administration)