One of the most common frustrations I hear from educators is that students seem to understand a concept during one lesson but struggle to apply that same learning somewhere else. A student may successfully analyze a historical source in social studies, explain an author's purpose in ELA, interpret scientific data in science, or justify a mathematical solution during math class. Yet when asked to apply those same thinking processes in a different classroom—or even later in the school year—the...

Teacher turnover is often discussed as a staffing problem. School leaders worry about vacancies, recruiting qualified candidates, onboarding new teachers, and retaining strong staff members. Those concerns are understandable. Every departure creates additional work, and replacing experienced educators is rarely easy. But over the years, I've noticed something interesting: Two schools can experience very similar levels of teacher turnover and have very different outcomes. In one school, the...

When I ask leaders what they're working to improve, I often hear many of the same answers. Stronger instruction. Higher levels of student learning. More consistent classroom practices. Greater implementation of district initiatives. The goals are usually clear. The challenge is that the messages teachers receive about those goals aren't necessarily as clear. A teacher might receive feedback from multiple leaders over the course of a month and each conversation could emphasize something...