Sierra McCormick

A positive school climate is key to student success. When students feel a sense of safety and belonging, they are more likely to engage and perform well academically. Teachers can make a difference. By establishing meaningful relationships with students, they can help create a more positive school climate. The Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports developed a resource, Supporting and Responding to Students' Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Needs, which provides teacher s...

How can district leaders assess their effectiveness in supporting Native students and use available Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to extend this support? The National Comprehensive Center developed a reflection tool to help school district staff analyze their current programs geared toward Native students, the use of ESSER funds, and evidence of effectiveness. The district reflection tool includes two sections with a total nine questions to consider. The first...

Consistent student attendance is critical to learning and student success. Students who are chronically absent are at serious risk of falling behind. Outreach from school staff to families and caregivers about their student's attendance patterns can help reduce absenteeism. According to a recent study funded by The National Center of Education Evaluation, parent messaging lowered the absentee rate by seven percentage points for students with a history of chronic absence.

Since the COVID-19 pandemic first affected schools and student learning time, educators and policymakers have given serious attention to increasing the number of high-impact learning opportunities to improve student outcomes. Students in specific demographic groups (e.g., Black, Latinx, Indigenous, and low-income students) were disproportionately affected by disrupted learning time during the pandemic, which meant they fell farther behind in core subjects. High-quality tutoring is one resear...

Many students, particularly low-income and those in rural areas, lack access to high-speed internet or technology devices at home. These students often miss out on important educational resources, tools, and assignments, which may negatively affect achievement.