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

Taking the Long View: State Efforts to Solve Teacher Shortages by Strengthening the Profession focuses on six evidence-based policies that states are pursuing to address their teacher shortages by strengthening, rather than weakening, their educator workforce. It also takes a close look at the state of Washington, where state policymakers have taken a comprehensive approach to addressing teacher shortages and improving the educator workforce by implementing many of the evidence-based policies described in the report.

Preparing to Lead  Lessons in Principal Development from High Performing Systems  These are the findings of a new report from Center on International Education Benchmarking. Authored by Australian researcher Ben Jensen, the report finds that many of the world’s best education systems are providing current and future school leaders with leadership development that is specifically tailored to their unique context, mirrors their day-to-day responsibilities and is focused on real-world problems facing those in the profession.

2018 PDK Poll: Majority Of Parents Don’t Want Their Kids To Become Teachers  For the first time in its history, the PDK Poll of the Public’s Attitudes Toward the Public Schools found that 54% of parents would not like one of their children to take up teaching in the public schools as a career. The most prominent reasons given against their children becoming teachers included perceived low pay and benefits and a general decline in trust and confidence in public school teachers.

NY – Does Teacher Diversity Matter in Student Learning?  Research shows that students, especially boys, benefit when teachers share their race or gender. Yet most teachers are white women. (New York Times)

2018 Oregon Educator Equity Report produced by the Oregon Educator Equity Advisory Group of Chief Education Office. This report accurately depicts the data and our  strategies being used in Oregon to diversify the Oregon teacher and educational leadership workforce.

Illinois Proposes Fixes for Teacher Shortage  A new report from the Illinois State Board of Education recommends eliminating a basic skills test and suggests exploring other ways for teachers to show competency, such as portfolios or classwork.

Teach Illinois: Strong Teachers, Strong Classrooms Illinois school districts are struggling to staff their classrooms. In September 2017, hearing from district and school leaders that the situation was critical, the Illinois State Board of Education launched Teach Illinois to better understand staffing challenges and craft a holistic set of policy solutions to address them. The yearlong effort aimed to build off the work already under way across Illinois. The Teach Illinois report was released this week. Public comments may be submitted regarding the report before Oct. 2, 2018.