When COVID-19 forced a set of extraordinary challenges upon the U.S. education system in March 2020, risk and uncertainty were constant. Many stakeholders sought to weigh in on the endless choices confronting school leaders, including the teachers who would implement those decisions. In speaking with teachers union and association leaders across the country, we found that, more often than not, they described collaborative relationships with district leaders. What we learned highlights critical practices sustaining these relationships, and we believe state leaders have the power to both model and encourage many such practices in school governance.

Our analysis suggests that relations between district leaders and teacher membership organizations need not be contentious and adversarial. Rather, under the right circumstances, these relationships can incorporate conflict and negotiation alongside collaboration and mutual respect in a way that can strengthen decision making and policy implementation.


The Role of Teachers Unions in School Governance during COVID-19





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Effective State Education Governance

By Arnold F. Shober

No one model is clearly superior, but relationships, talent, and shared loyalty are marks of governance systems that get things done.





Roadmap to Excellence: Strategic Planning for State Boards

By Abigail Potts and Paolo DeMaria

Savvy boards can increase the odds their plans will live, breathe, and have measurable impact.





State Takeovers: No Silver Bullet for School District Improvement

By Beth Schueler

On average, takeover fails to improve achievement measures, but how it is done matters a lot.





Harnessing the Power of Evidence-Based Policymaking

By Heather Boughton and Sara Kerr

State boards should lean into education data and work to overcome challenges to doing so.






State Boards and the Governance of Early Childhood Education

By Elliot Regenstein

As states seek to bring coherence to the disparate systems that have a hand in early education and care, state boards have key roles to play.





African-American teacher reading to school children. Image credit: iStock

The Role of Teachers Unions in School Governance during COVID-19

By Sara Dahill-Brown and Lesley Lavery

While relationships with school leaders were contentious in places, many districts benefited from collaborative ones.







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Technology in Education

Savvy state leaders will set their sights on ways to broaden access to technology’s benefits, solve problems confronting educators, and protect students against the risks of misuse.
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Developing Content Standards: A Foundational Task for State Boards

State boards of education typically play a central role in approving academic content standards, though their authority varies by state. This boardsmanship review outlines guiding principles and common processes to help state boards develop high-quality standards.
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Strengthening Student Engagement and Adult Support

Many state boards of education reserve a seat at the board table for students. But representation is only the first step. Students need to be proactive and receive mentorship to be effective in their state board roles.

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