Learning Policy Institute
Project Title
As a final general support grant
Date
Mar. 07, 2024
Duration
18 months
Description
The Learning Policy Institute (LPI), established in 2015, is driven by a mission to integrate high-quality evidence into educational policy and practice at all levels. With a team of over 60 researchers, educators, policy experts, and communicators, LPI focuses on connecting policymakers and education stakeholders with evidence-based strategies. The institute is nonpartisan and collaborates with various organizations across the education sector to drive progress. With support from the Corporation, LPI proposes to deepen its activities in response to emerging challenges, declining enrollment, chronic absenteeism, severe educator shortages, and school voucher plans all pose threats to the viability and quality of the education system. LPI will continue to inform education policy and practice on how to redesign schools to enable all students to learn and thrive in ways that enable them to fully participate in democratic life and the global economy—and how to prepare educators for this work.
Project Title
For support of EdPrepLab initiative
Date
Mar. 09, 2023
Duration
12 months
Description
Learning Policy Institute (LPI) was established in 2015 to bring high-quality evidence into policy and practice conversations at the federal, state, and local levels. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, LPI connects policymakers and stakeholders with the evidence, ideas, and actions needed to strengthen the education system from preschool through college and career readiness—with the goal of creating empowering and equitable learning over each and every child. With continued support from the Corporation LPI aims to (1) strengthen equity-focused, SoLD-aligned education preparation practice and policy through the Education Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab) (2) expand and deepen the work of the Teacher Licensure Collaborative (TLC) to incorporate SoLD principles and whole child practices into state educator licensing and preparation systems; and (3) inform federal and state policymakers on key strategies over developing an equity-focused educator workforce, working in coalition with key partners and lifting up evidence-based research and examples of effective policies and practices.
Project Title
To conduct a landscape scan and analysis of teacher residency policies and program models across the United States
Date
Sep. 14, 2023
Duration
12 months
Description
Between 2009 and 2019 the number of students completing traditional teacher education programs in the U.S. dropped by more than a third. The pandemic has only exacerbated the teacher shortage in the U.S. with 45percent of schools reporting at least one vacancy as of March 2023. One proven and effective way to address teacher shortages, particularly in high-demand subjects and high-needs communities, is through teacher residency programs, typically year-long training regimens combining extensive supervised classroom experience with master’s level coursework. Retention for teacher residency programs after three years averages between eighty and ninety percent, as opposed to fifty percent for traditional teacher programs, with over 90 percent of principals reporting that residency graduates are more effective than traditional first-year teachers, according to a recent survey. With the support from the Corporation, the Learning Policy Institute, a leader in teacher preparation policy and practice, will conduct a landscape scan and analysis of teacher residency policies and program models across the U.S. to provide reliable information to funders, policymakers, and practitioners on the opportunities, needs, and gaps for supporting the design and implementation of high-quality residency programs.
Project Title
As a final grant for a project to continue the development of a middle school science, curriculum-aligned assessment system for state use
Date
Dec. 14, 2023
Duration
12 months
Description
Federal assessments and accountability expectations have led to evaluations that do not measure or incentivize sophisticated disciplinary content knowledge and practices, deeper learning, and higher order thinking and problem-solving skills that are associated with college and career readiness. This is particularly true in science, where a growing number of states in the State Performance Assessment Learning Community, convened by the Learning Policy Institute (LPI), are seeking to establish performance assessment systems that are anchored in the Next Generation Science Standards and high-quality curriculum, such as OpenSciEd. Through this renewal grant, LPI will continue managing this state science assessment group and support states’ work with districts to pilot prototypes for statewide curriculum-anchored assessment systems in science education and integrate it into their state policies.
Project Title
For a project to develop statewide prototypes for curriculum-anchored performance assessment systems connected to the OpenSciEd middle school science curriculum
Date
Sep. 15, 2022
Duration
15 months
Description
Federal assessments and accountability expectations have led to evaluations that do not measure or incentivize sophisticated disciplinary content knowledge and practices, deeper learning, and higher order thinking skills that are associated with college and career readiness. This is particularly true in science, where a growing number of states in the State Performance Assessment Learning Community are seeking to establish performance assessment systems that are anchored in the Next Generation Science Standards and high-quality curriculum, such as OpenSciEd. The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) convenes and manages this state science assessment group and is well-positioned to help states work with districts to design prototypes for statewide curriculum-anchored assessment systems in science education.
Project Title
For EdPrepLab and policy efforts to build a well-prepared, stable, and diverse K-12 educator workforce
Date
Dec. 02, 2021
Duration
15 months
Description
Learning Policy Institute (LPI) was established in 2015 to bring high-quality evidence into policy and practice conversations at the federal, state, and local levels. Nonprofit and nonpartisan, LPI connects policymakers and stakeholders with the evidence, ideas, and actions needed to strengthen the education system from preschool through college and career readiness—with the goal of creating empowering and equitable learning for each and every child. LPI proposes three initiatives that will (1) strengthen equity-focused, SoLD-aligned education preparation, practice, and policy through the Education Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab), launched in 2019 with Corporation support and in partnership with the Bank Street College of Education; (2) establish a Teacher Licensure Collaborative with national organizations and a subset of states interested in advancing teacher licensure standards that align with SoLD principles; and (3) inform federal and state policymakers on key strategies for building a well-prepared, stable, and diverse educator workforce.
Project Title
For continued development and implementation of EdPrepLab
Date
Sep. 10, 2020
Duration
15 months
Description
Preparing teachers and leaders so that they are equipped to apply emerging insights from the science of learning and development, to create school environments and experiences that meet all students’ needs, and to prepare those students for work, life, and citizenship in the 21st century is complex and demanding. However, educator preparation faculty have few opportunities to collaborate within and across programs or to shape the field more broadly in the direction of implementing up-to-date practices or engaging in continuous program improvement that can lead to improved outcomes for more students. The Educator Preparation Laboratory (EdPrepLab), launched in 2019 with Corporation support, is a learning network of fifteen leading schools of education, joined by a set of state agencies and policy organizations, that brings together practice, research and policy in order to address these issues.
Project Title
For writing and dissemination of policy papers based on findings from Teacher Preparation for Deeper Learning (TPDL) and Leader Preparation for Deeper Learning (LPDL) studies
Date
Mar. 07, 2019
Duration
12 months
Description
This is a propitious moment for teacher policy as thirty-three of the thirty-nine new governors taking office in 2019, and many incoming state legislators, have pledged to work on teacher supply and quality issues. Learning Policy Institute (LPI) proposes translating the findings from their recent Corporation-funded studies Teacher Preparation for Deeper Learning and Leader Preparation for Deeper Learning into accessible policy briefs, tools and other resources to support state policymakers to transform teacher and leader preparation in their states. LPI will then engage in strategic efforts to disseminate the framework and agenda in actionable ways to state and federal policymakers, with an emphasis on state governors’ offices, legislatures, and departments of education that are planning to address educator quality and shortage issues in the new year. They will also provide the support needed to implement the recommendations. This work will also be relevant to reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, which may advance in Congress in 2019.
Project Title
For a State policy playbook based on the recommendations of the Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) Commission
Date
Jun. 13, 2019
Duration
27 months
Description
There is widespread demand for student learning experiences that incorporate social and emotional development, as demonstrated by the findings of the National Commission on Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (NCSEAD). In order to address this demand, the NCSEAD outlined recommendations for shifting policy and practice to support learners holistically. Learning Policy Institute (LPI) is well positioned to provide direct technical assistance and resources to state policymakers in order to implement the NCSEAD recommendations. Led by Linda Darling-Hammond, co-chair of the SEAD Commission, LPI will build on the momentum of the NCSEAD to ensure state policy efforts are coordinated and informed by the research and recommendations. Support of this project will build upon the Corporation’s previous support of the NCSEAD and current support of America’s Promise Alliance to disseminate a communications campaign around the NCSEAD recommendations. With Corporation support, LPI will unify policymakers and researchers to advance the integration of social and emotional development into learning environments across the states.
Project Title
For planning and launch of the Educator Preparation Innovation Center
Date
Sep. 13, 2018
Duration
24 months
Description
Educator preparation has been widely criticized as failing to prepare educators who are equipped for the challenges of teaching and leading in schools today. As K-12 education shifts toward more personalized, experiential and deeper learning, teacher and leader preparation programs need to evolve to ensure that educators are learning new pedagogies and instructional strategies and developing the skills, knowledge and dispositions they need to support deeper learning for all students. This grant supports Learning Policy Institute (LPI) in launching an Educator Preparation Innovation Center (EPIC) that will build the collaborative capacity of educator preparation programs, school districts, and state policy makers to strengthen the policy and practice of educator preparation in the United States. EPIC will (1) build a learning community of educator preparation programs and school district leaders (led by Bank Street College of Education); (2) conduct and disseminate research on models of practice and their outcomes; and (3) strengthen the capacity of policymakers in order to inform federal, state and local policy development.
Project Title
For research that advances understanding of teacher and leadership preparation practices that support deeper learning for diverse learners
Date
Sep. 08, 2016
Duration
24 months
Description
As K-12 education shifts away from an emphasis on rote learning and standardization toward more personalized, experiential and deeper learning, teacher and leader preparation programs need to evolve to ensure that educators are learning new pedagogies and instructional strategies and developing the skills, knowledge and dispositions they need to support deeper learning for all students. The Learning Policy Institute (LPI) is a new independent, nonpartisan organization led by Linda Darling-Hammond that conducts and communicates research to policymakers at all levels, connecting them with the evidence, ideas, and actions needed to strengthen the education system and improve learning for all students. This grant supports two LPI research studies that explore how teachers and leaders are prepared to teach and lead for deeper learning for diverse students, including which strategies, structures and supports are most promising.