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Carol Choye: In Memoriam

Carol Choye: In Memoriam

CTAC remembers lifelong educator and longtime CTAC board member Carol Choye. Both at CTAC and in her many community and academic involvements in New Jersey, Dr. Choye was a fervent and skilled advocate for equity and social justice.

TSL: A Special Grant Opportunity for Leaders and Districts

TSL: A Special Grant Opportunity for Leaders and Districts

The U.S. Department of Education has announced the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program, a competitive grant program that will assist districts to provide educator professional development and supports that address the immediate learning needs of their current students.

CTAC Charter Center Conducts Texas Evaluation

Texas Education Agency recently selected CTAC to conduct an external evaluation of the Texas Charter School Program High-Quality Replication Grant. CTAC is working to identify the practices, processes, and supports associated with successful charter replication. 

Leading educators join CTAC Board of Directors

CTAC is pleased to welcome three leaders in higher education, STEM, and evaluation as new members of our Board of Directors. Learn more about the experience and expertise of Dr. Harouna Ba, Dr. Cynthia Char, and Dr. Ajay Nair.

CTAC and Tracy Unified receive EIR grant

CTAC and the Tracy Unified School District have been awarded an Education Innovation and Research grant by the U.S. Department of Education. Leadership of STEM: The PreK-12 Pathway provides students a STEM project-based curriculum that is engineering- and computer science-centered.

Moving from school improvement to school achievement

After engaging in CTAC’s Standard Bearer Schools (SBS) process for just one year, Belmont Elementary School in Prince William County Public Schools, Virginia has achieved dramatic results.

CTAC Welcomes Joanne Brady to Board

CTAC is pleased to welcome Joanne Brady as a new member of our Board of Directors. She is an expert in translating research into programs, curricula, and tools for practitioners and policymakers concerned with educational improvement.

In Memoriam: Lodis Rhodes

CTAC remembers lifelong educator and longtime CTAC board member Lodis Rhodes. Both at CTAC and in his many community and academic involvements in Austin, Dr. Rhodes was a fervent and skilled advocate for equity and social justice.

Helping states meet big challenges

Through the Northeast Comprehensive Center (NCC), CTAC assists the Connecticut State Department of Education to address issues that have statewide educational impact. The NCC provides technical assistance to the six New England states and New York.

When Educators Learn, Students Learn

This final evaluation of the Learning Leaders initiative in Virginia’s Henrico County Public Schools shows that Learning Leaders measurably improved student achievement in eight of its lowest-performing schools.

New study shows student learning gains

CTAC’s study of the Teacher Incentive Performance Award (TIPA), a five-year initiative implemented in the 30 lowest performing schools in Prince William County Public Schools, finds that building educator skills and school-wide collaboration produces student learning gains.

USEd announces new grant program

The U.S. Department of Education has announced the first round of the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program, a competitive grant program that will assist districts to provide educator professional development and supports that address the immediate learning needs of their current students.

Staying the course on educator evaluation

Maryland provides lessons to the nation on how to implement and support teacher and principal evaluation (TPE) systems. This report examines the progress Maryland has made during four years of TPE implementation, 2013 to 2016.

Photo by U.S. Department of Education (https://flic.kr/p/dkZDcB) CC-BY-2.0

Making instruction come alive

While results from schools under the School Improvement Grant program have been mixed nationally, schools implementing CTAC’s Standard Bearer Schools process continue to far exceed the norm. Read about Schuyler Middle School’s success.

Maryland provides keys to implementing evaluation systems

Maryland is taking a systematic building block approach to increasing the capacities needed at school, district, and state levels to understand, develop, and implement new Teacher and Principal Evaluation (TPE) systems effectively. What are some of the key elements of Maryland’s strategy?

New Directions in Texas

The Texas Education Agency (TEA) and CTAC are partnering on a statewide initiative to implement Student Learning Objectives (SLOs). Texas has selected SLOs as one of four options to measure student growth as a component of teacher evaluation.

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What ESEA flexibility means for SEAs

Joe Frey, CTAC Senior Associate and former Deputy Commissioner of Higher Education for NYSED, examines what flexibility means for building locally-developed and supported approaches to school improvement in “Why can’t the Feds just leave us alone and let us do our jobs?!”

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Virginia Educators Share Best Practices

Prince William County Schools (PWCS) and CTAC partnered to implement TIPA, a school-wide performance-based compensation and professional development initiative. PWCS educators attended a Best Practices Conference highlighting the many outstanding practices implemented through the TIPA program.

Change in Practice in MD-2015

National Leadership in Maryland: Change in Practice in Educator Evaluation

A new comprehensive study shows that Maryland is a national leader in implementing an educator evaluation system statewide. Drawing on three years of data, findings show that TPE implementation is generating changes in practice and perception.

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CTAC’s new blog: the stories behind the headlines

CTAC’s blog conveys our thoughts and observations about the realities of practice and policy and the conditions that hobble or help improvements in teaching and learning. Read it now.

Real Progress in Maryland

Real Progress in Maryland

A new study shows the Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) is making significant strides in guiding and supporting the implementation of Student Learning Objectives as well as a teacher and principal evaluation system statewide.

Image: US Dept of Education, Original: https://flic.kr/p/nrSH9a https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Any impact from professional development?

One of the greatest challenges for school districts of all sizes is to determine the impact of professional development on student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Given the increased emphasis on educator effectiveness and efficient use of resources, addressing this challenge has never been more important.

Landmark Partnership in Maryland

Leaders of eight Maryland education organizations are joining together to support the implementation of Student Learning Objectives (SLOs), a key component of the new teacher and principal evaluation system. This level of collaboration is unprecedented at the statewide level.

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Teacher Pay: Reform or Stagnation?

Compensation can be a key lever in attracting and retaining high-quality teachers. Yet, increases in average teacher pay have remained stagnant or have increased only minimally in states and districts across the U.S. Read about the challenges states and districts face when creating teacher compensation systems.

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The Common Core and the Unknown Knowns

So much attention has been focused on the Common Core and its implications for states and school districts across the nation. At this juncture, what is most important is identifying what is needed to support front-line educators and ensure high quality implementation.

Celebrating 35 years of innovation, quality and integrity

Our first 35 years are just the start. In partnership with states, districts, communities and responsive philanthropy, we continue to be at the forefront of innovation in supporting significant growth in student learning and addressing root causes of poverty.

Success

Sustaining Turnaround: Moving from Last to First

The Murkland School in the Lowell Public Schools (Massachusetts) is now being recognized for sustaining its significant improvements in student academic growth over a three year period.

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