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It's Here: Wallace's Top Ten Posts of 2022

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It has been a busy year here at Wallace. But don’t just take our word for it. Let’s look at a few numbers. Since January 1, 2022, we’ve:<div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet"> Launched a new five-year arts initiative with 18 arts organizations of color </div><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Received  more than 1,700 submissions for a new funding  opportunity focused on adolescents</div><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Continued working with eight large school districts to explore how to build pipelines that can produce school leaders capable of advancing their own district’s vision of equity</div><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Published more than 50 reports and articles, including the last of three “knowledge syntheses” examining what recent research says about important topics in school leadership</div><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Launched two podcast series</div><div class="wf-Element-BlueBullet">Hosted several webinars and events, some with thousands of attendees</div>Much of this work has been captured by our editorial staff and guest authors on The Wallace Blog, as you'll see in our annual Top Ten Blog Posts. We think the list gives a good sense of the breadth of our work while highlighting common themes, such as how people working in education and the arts are still experiencing effects from the pandemic, and how everyone is craving conversation (online or, thankfully this year, sometimes in person) with experts and their peers along with data and research. We hope you enjoy revisiting these stories, and we hope you learn something new! 10. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/focusing-on-principal-wellness-6-questions-for-school-leaders.aspx"> Focusing on Principal Wellness: 6 Questions for School Leaders:</a> Four principals—who, together, have more than 30 years of experience as school leaders—discuss what inspired them to become principals, how they deal with burnout and the impact of the pandemic, among other topics.  9. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/how-can-music-organizations-be-more-inclusive.aspx"> How Can Music Organizations Be More Inclusive?</a> In a Chamber Music America podcast episode, Slover Linett researcher Melody Buyukozer Dawkins highlights several insights from a recent study exploring 50 Black Americans’ perception of the arts. She also gives a few key takeaways for ensemble music professionals to use in their own work. 8. <a href="/news-and-media/blog/pages/three-districts-one-principal-pipeline.aspx"> Three Districts, One Principal Pipeline:</a> In this deep-dive into a sparsely populated section of rural Nebraska, we see how three small districts pooled their talent and resources to implement systemic improvements to the preparation, hiring, support and management of principals. 7. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/how-can-arts-and-culture-organizations-be-more-welcoming.aspx"> How Can Arts and Culture Organizations Be More Welcoming?</a> Slover Linett researchers hit our Top 10 list twice this year, this time in a conversation upon the release of their report exploring Black Americans’ perspectives on arts and culture. The report also delves into how organizations can better support Black communities and work to earn their trust and make them feel welcome. 6. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/five-takeaways-for-developing-high-quality-principals.aspx"> Five Takeaways for Developing High-Quality Principals:</a> Two reports released in 2022 show how states, districts and universities all have a role to play in improving the quality of principal preparation. Authors from the two research teams presented highlights from their work, along with a panel of experts to help dig into the findings. This blog post recaps five key takeaways from that conversation. 5. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/why-afterschool-programs-need-social-and-emotional-learning-sel-now.aspx"> Why Afterschool Programs Need Social and Emotional Learning Now:</a> Read highlights from a webinar jointly hosted by The Afterschool Alliance, Every Hour Counts and the Forum for Youth Investment, which emphasizes how afterschool programs have used SEL strategies to help children throughout the pandemic. 4. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/social-and-emotional-learning-in-the-spotlight.aspx"> Social and Emotional Learning in the Spotlight:</a> This post breaks down our three-part podcast series, Let’s Talk Social and Emotional Learning, into short video clips in which Harvard’s Stephanie Jones highlights key topics in Navigating SEL From the Inside Out. 3. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/helping-arts-workers-navigate-pandemic-induced-burnout.aspx"> Helping Arts Workers Navigate Pandemic-Induced Burnout:</a> Arts organizations offer up a slew of resources and ideas to support health and wellness for people working in the arts. 2. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/two-summer-programs-inch-towards-normal-as-covid-subsides.aspx"> Two Summer Programs Inch Towards Normal as Covid Subsides:</a> What can summer do to help overcome the havoc Covid-19 has wreaked on young people’s lives? A fair bit, according to the parents, kids and staff we interviewed at two summer programs in New York and New Jersey. In the number two blog post of the year, they talk about their experiences, how the programs had to adapt due to the pandemic and what their plans are for the future.  1. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/new-research-points-to-a-looming-principal-shortage.aspx"> New Research Points to a Looming Principal Shortage:</a> Teacher burnout and shortages have been hot topics all year in the news. But what about principals? In the most viewed blog post of 2022, school leaders discuss how the principal role is changing, why four in ten principals surveyed said they might soon leave the profession and what to do about it.

Jenna Doleh

2022-12-13T05:00:00Z

Your favorite reads this year touched on everything from SEL to principals to community arts

12/13/2022 3:37:27 PM

The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / It's Here: Wallace's Top Ten Posts of 2022 Your favorite reads this year touched on everything from SEL to principals to

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What Wallace’s Top 10 Stories Say about Trends in Education and the Arts

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December is a great time to look back and reflect on the year’s work, both to get a sense of what we’re learning—and what is resonating with you, dear reader. The more than 40 posts we published in 2021 on The Wallace Blog  explore a variety of hot topics for our audience, such as why principals really matter; why arts organizations of color are often overlooked and underfunded; and why young people need access to high-quality afterschool programs and arts education programs now more than ever. Just to name a few. Moreover, the stories in our Top 10 List this year (measured by number of page views) give a good sense of the breadth of the research and projects currently under way at Wallace. They also highlight some of the people involved and their unique perspectives on the work. We hope you enjoy reading (or revisiting) some of the posts now. 10. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/more-kids-than-ever-are-missing-out-on-afterschool-programs.aspx">Why Are So Many Kids Missing Out on Afterschool?</a> A <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/america-after-3pm-demand-grows-opportunity-shrinks.aspx">study </a>released earlier this year by the Afterschool Alliance identifies trends in afterschool program offerings well as overall parent perceptions of afterschool programs. In this post, we interview Jennifer Rinehart, senior VP, strategy & programs, at the Afterschool Alliance, to discuss the implications of the study, which was based on a large survey of families, and what they might mean for a post-pandemic world. 9. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/what-can-we-learn-from-high-performing-arts-organizations-of-color.aspx">What Can We Learn from High-Performing Arts Organizations of Color?</a> The <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/reimagining-the-future-of-the-arts-a-webinar-series-from-the-wallace-foundation-session-5.aspx">fifth conversation</a> in our Reimagining the Future of the Arts series examines what leaders of arts organizations with deep roots in communities of color see as the keys to their success, as well as what they have learned while navigating crises. Read highlights of the conversation between leaders from SMU Data Arts, Sones de Mexico Ensemble, Chicago Sinfonietta and Theater Mu in this blog post.8. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/decade-long-effort-to-expand-arts-education-in-boston-pays-off.aspx">Decade-long Effort to Expand Arts Education in Boston Pays Off</a> A longitudinal <a href="https://www.edvestors.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/The-Arts-Advantage-Impacts-of-Arts-Education-on-Boston-Students_Brief-FINAL.pdf">study </a>released this year found that arts education can positively affect student engagement, attendance rates and parent engagement with schools. Read more about the findings and about Boston Public Schools' successful systems approach to arts learning, including insights from a researcher, a district leader and the president and CEO of EdVestors, a school improvement nonprofit in Boston. 7. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/how-can-teachers-support-students-social-and-emotional-learning.aspx">How Can Teachers Support Students’ Social and Emotional Learning?</a> Concern about student well-being has been at the forefront of many conversations this year as schools have reopened, so it comes as little surprise that this post made our list. Here, RAND researchers Laura Hamilton and Christopher Doss speak with us about their <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/supports-social-and-emotional-learning-american-schools-classrooms.aspx">study,</a> which found that while teachers felt confident in their ability to improve students’ social and emotional skills, they said they needed more supports, tools and professional development in this area, especially these days. 6. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/how-do-arts-organizations-of-color-sustain-their-relevance-and-resilience.aspx">$53 Million Initiative Offers Much-Needed Support for Arts Organizations of Color</a> In this post, Wallace’s director of the arts, Bahia Ramos, introduces our new initiative focused on arts organizations of color, which historically “have been underfunded and often overlooked, despite their rich histories, high-quality work and deep roots in their communities.” The effort will involve work with a variety of organizations to explore this paradox and much more. 5. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/five-lessons-in-problem-solving-for-school-leaders.aspx">Five Lessons in Problem Solving for School Leaders</a> This post by Rochelle Herring, one of Wallace’s senior program officers in school leadership, gives an inside look at how California’s Long Beach school district transformed its learning and improvement at every level of the system. It also offers lessons that practitioners in other districts can apply to their own context.  4. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/american-rescue-plan-five-things-state-and-district-leaders-need-to-know-now.aspx">American Rescue Plan: Five Things State and District Leaders Need to Know Now</a> EducationCounsel, a mission-based education organization and law firm, analyzed the text of the American Rescue Plan Act, which provides more than $126 billion for K-12 schools and additional funding for early childhood and higher education. In this post, EducationCounsel’s Sean Worley and Scott Palmer examine this historic level of federal  funding for public school education and offer guidance that states and districts might consider when seeking Rescue Plan dollars.  3. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/why-young-people-need-access-to-high-quality-arts-education.aspx">Why Young People Need Access to High-Quality Arts Education</a> Studies confirm that  sustained engagement with the arts—and, especially, with making art—can help young people gain new perspectives, deepen empathy, picture what is possible, collaborate and even fuel civic engagement. In short, all children deserve access to high-quality arts education, writes Wallace’s director of arts, Bahia Ramos, who was initially approached to draft a shorter version of this piece for Time magazine’s <a href="https://time.com/collection/visions-of-equity/6046015/equity-agenda/">Visions of Equity </a>project. 2. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/districts-that-succeed-what-are-they-doing-right.aspx">Districts That Succeed: What Are They Doing Right?</a> In her new book, Karin Chenoweth, writer-in-residence at The Education Trust,uses new research on district performance as well as in-depth reporting to profile five districts that have successfully broken the correlation between race, poverty and achievement. We spoke with Chenoweth about what she learned from her research and what she hopes readers will take away from the book.1. <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/yes-principals-are-that-important.aspx">Yes, Principals Are That Important</a> It seems that many of our readers found the headline to this blog post worthy of their attention, considering that the item is in the number one spot on our list this year. Here, education experts weigh in on findings from <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/how-principals-affect-students-and-schools-a-systematic-synthesis-of-two-decades-of-research.aspx">groundbreaking research</a> released earlier in the year on the impact an effective principal can have on both students and schools—and the implications for policy and practice.

Jenna Doleh

2021-12-07T05:00:00Z

A look back at your favorite reads this year—from supporting students’ well-being during COVID-19 to learning from arts organizations of color

12/6/2021 8:52:46 PM

The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / What Wallace’s Top 10 Stories Say about Trends in Education and the Arts A look back at your favorite reads this year—from

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5 Reports and Tools to Help Guide Your Summer Learning Program

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It’s been said thousands of times but bears repeating: the summer of 2021 promises to be a most unusual one as schools, districts, nonprofits, parents and others roll up their sleeves to help counteract some of the learning losses of the pandemic—and simply bring children together again safely. Then again, what could be more normal than corralling a group of children in summer, whether to learn how to multiply fractions or swing a bat? As Summer Learning Week begins, we’ve pulled together an unofficial list of Wallace’s Top 5 Summer Learning Publications. A majority of the research stems from the experiences of five urban school districts and their partners who formed Wallace’s <a href="/how-we-work/our-work/pages/summer-learning.aspx">National Summer Learning Project</a> (NSLP) from 2011 through 2016. While the most current findings and popular tools headline the list, there is much more to be discovered in the <a href="/knowledge-center/summer-learning/pages/default.aspx">Summer Learning section</a> of Wallace’s Knowledge Center, all of which can be easily downloaded free of charge. <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx"><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/5-Reports-and-Tools-to-Help-Guide-Your-Summer-Learning-Program/Getting-to-Work-on-Summer-Learning-2nd-ed-a.jpg" alt="Getting-to-Work-on-Summer-Learning-2nd-ed-a.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;color:#555555;font-size:14px;width:200px;height:286px;" /></a> <div>1.<a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx">The </a> <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-to-work-on-summer-learning-2nd-ed.aspx">First Stop for Summer Learning Practitioners</a> </div>Based on the RAND Corporation’s evaluations from the NSLP, Getting to Work on Summer Learning: Recommended Practices for Success, 2nd ed addresses questions about how to implement a high-quality summer learning program and offers evidence-based recommendations around such topics as timing, hiring and training, and how to recruit students. For example, do you know the recommended month to begin planning a summer program? (If you guessed January, gold star.) Many more specific recommendations and guidance await your perusal. <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/every-summer-counts-a-longitudinal-analysis-of-outcomes-from-the-national-summer-learning-project.aspx"><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/5-Reports-and-Tools-to-Help-Guide-Your-Summer-Learning-Program/Every-Summer-Counts-A-Longitudinal-Analysis-a.jpg" alt="Every-Summer-Counts-A-Longitudinal-Analysis-a.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:200px;height:287px;" /></a>2. <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/every-summer-counts-a-longitudinal-analysis-of-outcomes-from-the-national-summer-learning-project.aspx">Running a High-Quality Program Shows Meaningful Results</a> Every Summer Counts: A Longitudinal Analysis of Outcomes from the National Summer Learning Project also stems from RAND and the NSLP and finds both short-term and long-term benefits among students who consistently attended voluntary five- to six-week summer learning programs. The largest and longest study of its kind, the research confirms previous studies finding that after the first summer high-attenders outperformed control group members in math, and after the second summer, high-attenders saw advantages in math, language arts and social-emotional skills. This report shows that even three years after the second summer, while academic benefits had decreased in magnitude and were not statistically significant, they remained educationally meaningful. All of this suggests that summer programs can be an important component in how school districts support learning and skill development, particularly for children from low-income families who may face widening achievement and opportunity gaps in any summer, let alone this one post-COVID.<div> <a href="/knowledge-center/summer-learning/toolkit/pages/default.aspx"><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/5-Reports-and-Tools-to-Help-Guide-Your-Summer-Learning-Program/toolkit.final-WEB-titles.jpg" alt="toolkit.final-WEB-titles.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:200px;height:200px;" /></a>3. <a href="/knowledge-center/summer-learning/toolkit/pages/default.aspx">A Hands-On How-To Guide for High-Quality Summer Learning</a> This online resource hub houses more than 50 evidence-based tools, templates and resources used successfully by NSLP’s districts and their partners. Additional resources created by field experts round out the offerings, all of which are aligned to RAND’s key research findings and contain guidance for how to use them. Each section of the toolkit includes a timeline for when you should start thinking about the various components of planning and design. Maybe you’re late to the toolkit for this summer, but fear not, you can begin many of the pre-planning and logistical steps for next summer this fall. <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/Out-of-School-Time-Programs-This-Summer.aspx"><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/5-Reports-and-Tools-to-Help-Guide-Your-Summer-Learning-Program/Learning-Heroes-Finding-Passion-a.jpg" alt="Learning-Heroes-Finding-Passion-a.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:200px;height:113px;" /></a>4. <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/Out-of-School-Time-Programs-This-Summer.aspx">What Parents Want from Out-of-School Programs This Summer</a> For this recently released study, Edge Research and Learning Heroes surveyed parents of K-8th grade children, out-of-school-time (OST) professionals, field leaders and others to explore the unique role OST programs play in youth development compared with home and school as well as the impact of COVID-19 for this summer and beyond. Among the many nuggets, the researchers found that parents were indeed concerned about the impact of the pandemic, with many expressing fears that their children were struggling academically, socially and emotionally. Overall parents identified three priorities for what they’d like to see summer programming address for their children: their social and emotional health, providing them with physical outdoor activities and helping them discover their passion and purpose. <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/evidence-based-considerations-covid-19-reopening-recovery-planning-summer-learning-with-academic-non-academic-activities.aspx"><img src="/News-and-Media/Blog/PublishingImages/Pages/5-Reports-and-Tools-to-Help-Guide-Your-Summer-Learning-Program/Wallace-Foundation-Brief-Implement-Considerations-Summer-Learn-w-Annotated-Bib-March-2021-a.jpg" alt="Wallace-Foundation-Brief-Implement-Considerations-Summer-Learn-w-Annotated-Bib-March-2021-a.jpg" class="wf-Image-Left" style="margin:5px;width:200px;height:278px;" /></a>5. <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/evidence-based-considerations-covid-19-reopening-recovery-planning-summer-learning-with-academic-non-academic-activities.aspx">Federal Funds Are Now Available for Summer Learning</a> Complementing parents’ concern for their children’s academic, social and emotional well-being, the federal government through the American Rescue Plan Act has made funds available to states and districts to speed up recovery from the effects of the pandemic, including addressing learning loss. In Evidence-based Considerations for COVID-19 Reopening and Recovery Planning: Summer Learning with Academic and Non-Academic Activities, Wallace has distilled evidence from our summer-learning work that may be helpful in informing choices about how to spend those funds, as well as how to implement key strategies. The paper includes an annotated bibliography with links to resources and tools (more than we could fit in this Top 5 list, so it’s a bonus!). </div>

Wallace editorial team

2021-07-09T04:00:00Z

Everything from planning district-wide summer programs to maximizing resources available under the American Rescue Plan Act—and Wallace’s popular summer learning toolkit

7/9/2021 1:56:13 PM

The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / 5 Reports and Tools to Help Guide Your Summer Learning Program Everything from planning district-wide summer programs to

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A Pandemic Time Capsule in 10 Blog Posts

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A deadly global health crisis. Its economic fallout on school districts, arts organizations, nonprofits, and communities of color in particular. An energized racial justice movement across America and beyond. It’s no surprise that both Merriam-Webster and Dictionary.com at the time of this writing have both chosen pandemic as their word of the year. Indeed, the most widely read posts on The Wallace Blog in this tumultuous year reflect concerns across the many communities we work with.  From the first lockdowns in March, our editorial team, with the assistance of so many partners, quickly shifted gears to help people navigate the fog of 2020—everything from an <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/managing-nonprofit-finances-during-the-coronavirus-crisis.aspx">interview with a financial management expert</a> on weathering the financial crisis to a <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/the-arts-getting-us-through-a-pandemic.aspx">list of the nonprofit arts organizations</a> that provided comfort, stimulation and plain-old entertainment when we needed them most.Our Top 10 stories this year might someday become a time capsule of Wallace’s work during the pandemic. We present them here by popularity, which for this purpose is defined by total number of views, from lowest (1,030) to highest (more than 20,000!), with an average viewing time of three minutes and 12 seconds. 10) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/helping-museums-navigate-through-the-covid-19-fog.aspx"> Helping Museums Navigate Through the COVID-19 Fog</a> Much like the rest of the country, museums have been grasping for ways to endure the disruption COVID-19 has brought on. Elizabeth Merritt, vice president for strategic foresight at the American Alliance of Museums, offers ways that museums and other organizations could create plans for possible post-pandemic scenarios in their communities. 9) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/engaging-audiences-in-the-age-of-social-distancing.aspx"> Engaging Audiences in the Age of Social Distancing</a> This post describes how some of the arts organizations that participated in our now-concluded Building Audiences for Sustainability initiative ramped up their digital offerings and continued to connect with their audiences online. 8) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/bringing-out-the-best-in-principals-during-the-covid-19-crisis.aspx"> Bringing Out the Best in Principals During the COVID-19 Crisis</a> Back in early summer, we caught up with Jill Baker, superintendent of the Long Beach (Calif.) Unified School District, about the district’s efforts to support principals during school closures, as well as its summer plans for school leadership development. 7) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/changing-principal-preparation-to-help-meet-school-needs.aspx"> Changing Principal Preparation to Help Meet School Needs</a> In the first post of a series profiling the University of Connecticut’s efforts to strengthen its principal training program, the university’s director gives a behind-the-scenes look at the changes the program made to better prepare future leaders. (Reporting for this story took place in the few pre-COVID months of 2020.) 6) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/research-about-the-arts-and-kids-a-fertile-area-for-inquiry.aspx"> Research About the Arts and Kids: A Fertile Area for Inquiry</a> Wallace’s director of communications Lucas Held recaps a conference held at George Mason University, part of an effort by the National Endowment for the Arts to help ensure “that every child will have access to arts education.” 5) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/keeping-young-people-creative-and-connected-in-quarantine.aspx"> Keeping Young People Creative (and Connected) in Quarantine</a> At the height of classroom shutdowns, we chatted with Kylie Peppler, a researcher who focuses on the intersection of art, education and technology, to discuss how digital technologies could be used to keep young people engaged in this era of social distancing and isolation. 4) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/literacy-expert-on-why-kids-must-keep-reading-during-this-unprecedented-moment.aspx"> Literacy Expert on Why Kids Must Keep Reading During This ‘Unprecedented Moment’</a> Jimmy Kim, the person behind <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/reads-helping-children-become-summer-bookworms.aspx">READS for Summer Learning</a>, offers guidance and tools for parents and caregivers on encouraging at-home reading for children amid all the uncertainty of the pandemic. 3) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/what-the-pandemic-means-for-summer-learning-and-how-policymakers-can-help.aspx"> What the Pandemic Means for Summer Learning-And How Policymakers Can Help</a> Government policies can both help and limit summer learning efforts. In this post, RAND’s Catherine Augustine discusses a <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/getting-support-for-summer-learning-policies-affect-summer-learning-programs.aspx">report on the summer learning policy landscape</a> and what could lie ahead for summer programs in the pandemic and beyond. 2) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/managing-nonprofit-finances-during-the-coronavirus-crisis.aspx"> Managing Nonprofit Finances During the Coronavirus Crisis</a> It might come as little surprise that our second most popular post of 2020 is about the financial bottom line. Nonprofit financial management expert Hilda Polanco discusses how nonprofits can best assess and work to maintain their financial health throughout the pandemic. While you’re at it, take a look at the <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/navigating-covid-19-for-nonprofits-from-financial-triage-to-scenario-planning.aspx">webinar</a> on this topic, attended by more than 1,000 people. 1) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/the-cares-act.aspx"> The CARES Act: Five Things That School and District Leaders Need to Know Now</a> EducationCounsel, a mission-based education organization and law firm, dug into the federal CARES Act and summarized its major education provisions shortly after the relief legislation was passed last spring. The post was followed up by a webinar on the topic, which you can view <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/unpacking-the-federal-response-to-covid-19-in-education.aspx">here</a>, and the team is ready to look at any future federal legislation as the pandemic continues into 2021.

Jenna Doleh

2020-12-15T05:00:00Z

A look back at your favorite reads this year—from supporting principals during COVID-19 to keeping kids connected during quarantine.

12/15/2020 6:51:26 PM

The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / A Pandemic Time Capsule in 10 Blog Posts Our most-read posts this year—from helping schools and nonprofits navigate

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Year’s Top Blog Posts Signal Interest in SEL, School Leadership

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If we can glean any trends from our list of most popular posts published on the Wallace Blog this year, it might be: Everything is connected. From arts education programs focused on urban tweens to performing arts organizations with varied audiences, the question seems to be how to get people in the door. Then once there, how to keep them…just as school districts are struggling to retain principals and might find support in RAND’s groundbreaking principal pipeline research. And speaking of school leaders, their growing concern for children’s social and emotional learning (SEL) is more evident than ever.  We’ve got all that and more in our Top 10 list this year, so go ahead and get connected:  10) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/the-benefits-of-arts-education-for-urban-tweens.aspx">The Benefits of Arts Education for Urban Tweens</a>: Does high-quality arts programming benefit urban tweens? What does it take to recruit young people to these programs—and keep them coming back? Read highlights from this webinar hosted by The National Guild for Community Arts Education and drawn from research and practice in our Youth Arts Initiative. 9) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/principal-retention-findings-from-ppi-report.aspx">Systematic Approach to Developing School Leaders Pays Off for Principal Retention</a>: Principal turnover disrupts schools, teachers and students, and the cost to replace a principal is about $75,000. This blog post investigates the principal retention finding of  <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/principal-pipelines-a-feasible,-affordable,-and-effective-way-for-districts-to-improve-schools.aspx">RAND’s groundbreaking report</a> on building principal pipelines. 8) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/what-if-districts-focused-not-just-on-preparing-and-hiring-principals-but-also-retaining-them.aspx">What If Districts Focused Not Just on Preparing and Hiring Principals But Also Retaining Them</a>: For more on principal retention, Marina Cofield, then the senior executive director of the Office of Leadership at the New York Department of Education, discusses why the nation’s largest school system decided that school leader retention mattered—and what the district did about it. 7) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/could-federal-funding-help-pay-for-arts-ed-in-your-school.aspx">Could Federal Funding Help Pay for Arts Education in Your School?</a> The authors of <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/review-of-evidence-arts-education-research-essa.aspx">a report exploring research on approaches to arts education</a> under the Every Student Succeeds Act discuss the types of activities and approaches that qualify for funding, the results arts-education interventions could yield and how educators might use their report to improve arts education in their schools. 6) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/five-organizations-five-different-strategies-to-build-arts-audiences.aspx">Five Organizations, Five Different Strategies to Build Arts Audiences</a>:  Organizations from our Building Audiences for Sustainability (BAS) initiative share early results from their efforts to tap new audiences while continuing to engage current attendees. As detailed in accounts from our BAS Stories Project, the work of the five varies widely; some strategies show success, some falter and many fall somewhere in between. 5) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/implementation-gets-the-job-done-benefiting-kids-by-strengthening-practices.aspx">Implementation Gets the Job Done, Benefitting Kids by Strengthening Practices</a>: Wallace’s recently retired director of research, Ed Pauly, shares insights from his decades-long career into why implementation studies matter, highlighting examples from recent Wallace work. 4) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/looking-toward-a-nation-at-hope.aspx">Looking Toward a Nation at Hope:</a> Rooted in findings that academic learning and social and emotional learning are intertwined, a report released earlier this year by The Aspen Institute shares recommendations and next steps for supporting a more holistic learning approach. 3) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/choosing-the-right-social-and-emotional-learning-programs-and-practices.aspx">Choosing the Right Social and Emotional Learning Programs and Practices</a>: More from the SEL front: RAND researchers discuss the importance of social and emotional learning and their new guide meant to help educators adopt evidence-based programs that fit needs of students and communities. 2) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/what-leading-for-equity-can-look-like-paul-fleming.aspx">What Leading for Equity Can Look Like</a>: Paul Fleming, assistant commissioner for the teachers and Leaders Division at the Tennessee Department of Education, discusses the importance of equity and how a publication on the subject by a statewide team seeks to help schools and districts in Tennessee better support all students. 1) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/helping-principals-support-social-and-emotional-learning.aspx">Helping Principals Support Social and Emotional Learning</a>: It’s no surprise that our top post of 2019 falls at the crossroads of school leadership and SEL: Here, guest author Eric Cardwell, president of the National Association of Elementary School Principals, tells of his conversations with educators around the country and the guide for SEL implementation that came out of them.

Wallace editorial team

2019-12-04T05:00:00Z

Read the most popular stories we published this year and the research that inspired them.

11/8/2022 3:47:39 PM

The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Year’s Top Blog Posts Signal Interest in SEL, School Leadership Read the most popular stories we published this year and

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Principals, SEL and the Arts Mark Year’s Top Blog Posts

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The end of the year is a time of lists…shopping lists, of course, but also top 10 lists: top 10 movies, top 10 books and so on. To celebrate the first year of the Wallace blog, we’re counting down a list of our own: These are the posts you’ve visited the most since the launch of the blog in March 2018, and we think they give a nice taste of our work this year.Happy New Year to all and to all a good read. 10) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/summer-books-research-beloved-pigs-of-childrens-literature.aspx">“Summer Books, Research and Beloved Pigs of Children’s Literature”</a> A chat with Harvard’s James Kim about READS for Summer Learning, a school-run, home-based program Kim developed over the course of 10-plus years of research and experimentation.9) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/talking-to-parents-about-social-and-emotional-learning-.aspx">“Talking to Parents about Social and Emotional Learning”</a> Bibb Hubbard, founder of the nonprofit Learning Heroes, talks to Wallace about a report aimed at helping schools and organizations communicate with parents about social and emotional learning.8) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/research-on-arts-integration-an-essa-evidence-review-blog-post.aspx">“High-Quality ‘Arts Integration’ Programs Can Benefit Learning in Core Subjects”</a> A brief look at a study by the American Institutes for Research, which shows that high-quality programs that incorporate music, theater or other arts into core subjects such as English and math can make a difference in learning.7) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/students-mental-and-emotional-health.aspx">“Students’ Mental and Emotional Health Top Concerns for Elementary Principals”</a> Run-down of a survey of elementary and middle school principals, which finds that their priorities have shifted dramatically over the past 10 years, with students’ mental and emotional issues now leading their list of concerns.6) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/research-and-self-reflection-help-strengthen-community-ties.aspx">“Research and Self-Reflection Help Strengthen Community Ties”</a> A guest post from social psychologist and statistician Bob Harlow about efforts by the Fleisher Art Memorial to connect with newly arrived immigrants in its South Philadelphia community.5) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/showing-young-people-they-belong-at-the-ballet.aspx">“Showing Young People They Belong at the Ballet”</a> Harlow discusses the Pacific Northwest Ballet’s work to attract 20-to-40-year-olds.4) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/how-principals-can-improve-student-success-blog-post.aspx">“How Principals Can Improve Student Success”</a>: A look back at How Leadership Influences Student Learning, a landmark Wallace report from 2004 that helped bring to light the importance of an overlooked factor in education—the role of the school principal.3) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/want-stronger-communities-create-a-bridge-to-the-arts.aspx">“Want Stronger Communities? Create a Bridge to the Arts”</a>: Our communications director, Lucas Held, reflects on a Knight Foundation report, which finds that art and culture help people develop a sense of attachment to their community.2) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/aasa-stephanie-jones-interview.aspx">“The Elements of Social and Emotional Learning”</a>: An excerpt from an interview with Harvard researcher Stephanie Jones, in which she relates her own personal experience with social and emotional learning and explains why educators should care about it.1) <a href="/News-and-Media/Blog/pages/your-top-picks-and-ours.aspx">“Your Top Picks and Ours”</a>: OK, so we posted this one before the official launch of the blog in March. It’s a round-up of Wallace’s most-downloaded publications of 2017. It just goes to show, everybody loves a good list!

Wallace editorial team

2018-12-18T05:00:00Z

A look back at your favorite dispatches from the first year of the Wallace blog

12/18/2018 3:00:18 PM

The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Principals, SEL and the Arts Mark Year’s Top Blog Posts A look back at your favorite dispatches from the first year of the

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Wallace maintains an ever-growing collection of reports, articles, videos and other resources that we have commissioned or produced since the 1990s.  Indeed, the Knowledge Center housing these 300-plus publications covering education leadership, learning and enrichment, and the arts is the heart of our <a href="/">website</a>. Over the last year, we added more than 20 new items to our library. As 2017 draws to a close, we thought we’d look back to see which resources, old and new, resonated most with our readers and which ones we on the Wallace editorial staff think are up and comers.  With that here’s our list of Top 10 Downloads of 2017:<table width="750"><tbody><tr><td style="padding:10px 30px;background-color:#7c0041;"> TOP 10 DOWNLOADS FROM JANUARY - NOVEMBER 2017</td></tr></tbody></table><table width="750"><tbody><tr style="background-color:#e6e690;"><td style="padding:10px;">Rank</td><td style="padding:10px;">Date Released</td><td style="padding:10px;">Title</td><td style="padding:10px;">YTD</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#fafbed;"><td style="padding:10px;">1</td><td style="padding:10px;">Jan. 2012</td><td style="padding:10px;"> <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/the-school-principal-as-leader-guiding-schools-to-better-teaching-and-learning.aspx"> The School Principal as Leader: Guiding Schools to Better Teaching and Learning</a>  </td><td style="padding:10px;">109,477</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#f7f7db;"><td style="padding:10px;">2</td><td style="padding:10px;">Sep. 2004</td><td style="padding:10px;"> <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/How-Leadership-Influences-Student-Learning.aspx"> How Leadership Influences Student Learning</a>  (For un updated synthesis of research over the last 20 years on the impact of principals, check out <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/how-principals-affect-students-and-schools-a-systematic-synthesis-of-two-decades-of-research.aspx">How Principals Affect Students and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research</a>.) </td><td style="padding:10px;">91,172</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#fafbed;"><td style="padding:10px;">3</td><td style="padding:10px;">Aug. 2010</td><td style="padding:10px;"> <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/three-essentials-to-improving-schools.aspx"> The Three Essentials: Improving Schools Requires District Vision, District and State Support, and Principal Leadership</a></td><td style="padding:10px;">33,727</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#f7f7db;"><td style="padding:10px;">4</td><td style="padding:10px;">Feb. 2013</td><td style="padding:10px;"> StrongNonprofits.org: <a href="/knowledge-center/resources-for-financial-management/SFM2013/Pages/Fixed-Asset-and-Depreciation-Schedule.aspx"> Fixed Asset and Depreciation Schedule (EXCEL)</a></td><td style="padding:10px;">25,969</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#fafbed;"><td style="padding:10px;">5</td><td style="padding:10px;">Jul. 2010</td><td style="padding:10px;"> <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/Investigating-the-Links-to-Improved-Student-Learning.aspx"> Learning From Leadership: Investigating the Links to Improved Student Learning</a></td><td style="padding:10px;">24,802</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#f7f7db;"><td style="padding:10px;">6</td><td style="padding:10px;">Feb. 2013</td><td style="padding:10px;"> StrongNonprofits.org: <a href="/knowledge-center/resources-for-financial-management/SFM2013/Pages/Program-Based-Budget-Template.aspx"> Program Based Budget Builder (EXCEL)</a></td><td style="padding:10px;">22,159</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#fafbed;"><td style="padding:10px;">7</td><td style="padding:10px;">May 2017</td><td style="padding:10px;"> <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/navigating-social-and-emotional-learning-from-the-inside-out.aspx"> Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out</a></td><td style="padding:10px;">18,915</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#f7f7db;"><td style="padding:10px;">8</td><td style="padding:10px;">Feb. 2013</td><td style="padding:10px;"> StrongNonprofits.org: <a href="/knowledge-center/resources-for-financial-management/SFM2013/Pages/A-Five-Step-Guide-to-Budget-Development.aspx"> A Five-Step Guide to Budget Development</a> </td><td style="padding:10px;">18,459</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#fafbed;"><td style="padding:10px;">9</td><td style="padding:10px;">Jun. 2012</td><td style="padding:10px;"> <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/The-Making-of-the-Principal-Five-Lessons-in-Leadership-Training.aspx"> The Making of the Principal: Five Lessons in Leadership Training </a></td><td style="padding:10px;">16,691</td></tr><tr style="background-color:#f7f7db;"><td style="padding:10px;">10</td><td style="padding:10px;">Jun. 2011</td><td style="padding:10px;"> <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/Making-Summer-Count-How-Summer-Programs-Can-Boost-Childrens-Learning.aspx"> Making Summer Count: How Summer Programs Can Boost Children’s Learning </a></td><td style="padding:10px;">15,708</td></tr></tbody></table> So, what struck us? 2017 Serves Up a Runaway Best-Seller Look at #7 on the list. It’s the only release from this year. In fact, it’s the only release since 2013!  The other publications on the Top 10 list have had much more time and exposure to help them reach  practitioners, policymakers and others interested in the issues we work on.  Why would a publication barely six months old have such a following?Simple answer: social and emotional learning (SEL). We’ve known for some time that interest in SEL—the skills outside of academics that students need to be successful in school and later in life—was on the rise. A growing body of research, too, has affirmed the benefits of developing strong SEL skills. What we didn’t know was how much guidance practitioners were looking for. Published in May, <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/navigating-social-and-emotional-learning-from-the-inside-out.aspx">Navigating Social and Emotional Learning from the Inside Out</a> offers a look at 25 top U.S. SEL programs, allowing users to do a scan across programs to assess grade level, settings, the skills they wish to develop and other features so users can adapt programs to their context. As of November 30, 2017 (the latest date for which we have figures), the publication had been downloaded almost 19,000 times from our website, making it the most popular new release we’ve ever had and pointing to the need for even more research and tools in this growing field. We’ve got more evidence on this point. Coming in at the number two spot of top 2017 releases, with 3,540 downloads since May, is a special issue of the journal <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/The-Future-of-Children-Social-and-Emotional-Learning.aspx">The Future of Children</a> that examines the development of SEL in school and afterschool settings.  Readers Reach for a Classic <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/How-Leadership-Influences-Student-Learning.aspx">How Leadership Influences Student Learning</a>  may be getting long in the tooth—it was first published in 2004—but it continues to attract large numbers of readers and has become the closest thing that Wallace has to a classic. (For an updated synthesis of research over the last 20 years on the impact of principals, check out <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/how-principals-affect-students-and-schools-a-systematic-synthesis-of-two-decades-of-research.aspx?utm_source=blog_post&utm_medium=html&utm_campaign=Your_Top_Picks_And_Ours">How Principals Affect Student and Schools: A Systematic Synthesis of Two Decades of Research</a>.) Written by researchers at the University of Minnesota and the University of Toronto, the report helped establish the importance of school principals to student success. Since it was first issued, this meta-analysis has been downloaded more than half a million times, suggesting there’s an ongoing need for understanding the ins and outs of why school leadership matters.  Nonprofits Welcome Practical Guidance Almost five years ago, Wallace launched a website intended to help afterschool organizations and other nonprofits manage their finances. <a href="http://www.strongnonprofits.org/">Strongnonprofits.org</a>  is a collection of free tools, how-tos, articles and other features assembled and in some cases created by Fiscal Management Associates, a leading national consulting firm working with nonprofits on financial management matters. Three of the site’s resources made our Top 10, a testament to the appetite among nonprofits for guidance on how to strengthen their financial muscle.  Staff Picks Sometimes download numbers tell only part of the story. Four reports published this year merit a special mention for breaking ground in their subject areas, even if they didn’t break into the Top 10.   Arts  + Tweens = Good Read Nine in 10 Americans believe that the arts are part of a well-rounded education, according to a 2016 survey by Americans for the Arts. For disadvantaged children, however, high-quality opportunities to experience the arts, both in school and out, can be scarce. Enter the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA), which managed in three communities to introduce the sorts of arts education programs one would normally find in smaller, more specialized organizations, according to a report by Research for Action and McClanahan Associates. <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/raising-the-barre-and-stretching-the-canvas.aspx">Raising the Barre and Stretching the Canvas: Implementing High-Quality Arts Programming in a National Youth Serving Organization</a> shows how BGCA navigated some tricky terrain to develop promising programs that meet general principles of a high-quality arts education. Surveys cited in the report show that large majorities of participants in the BGCA programs found their teachers competent, their studios engaging and their environments safe, friendly and comfortable. Art + Millennials = Another Good Read Arts organizations, meanwhile, are eager to learn how they can attract the older siblings of those tweens. <a href="/knowledge-center/pages/building-millennial-audiences-barriers-and-opportunities.aspx">Building Millennial Audiences: Barriers and Opportunities</a> garnered surprising interest among readers in offering clues to action—including recognizing that several obstacles may be keeping 20-somethings from greater participation in the arts. Among them are misperceptions about ticket prices and leisure events that compete for millennials’ time. A Novel Study Makes a Debut From the world of arts into the world of number crunching,  <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/what-it-takes-to-operate-and-maintain-principal-pipelines-costs-and-other-resources.aspx">What It Takes to Operate and Maintain Principal Pipelines: Costs and Other Resources</a> is the RAND Corp.’s examination of the price tag when school districts embark on ensuring that school leaders are properly trained, hired and supported on the job.  The big finding, based on RAND’s first-of-its-kind review of expenditures by six major urban school districts in a Wallace effort to promote the development of a large corps of highly effective principals, was the following: The costs are only a small slice of annual district spending—an average of about 0.4 percent of yearly expenditures. Readers Look for Ways to Expand What Works In a way, <a href="/knowledge-center/Pages/how-to-scale-up-social-programs-that-work.aspx">Strategies to Scale Up Social Programs: Pathways, Partnerships and Fidelity</a> is a study in optimism, an examination of efforts so successful that people decided to spread them around. The report explores 45 programs tackling everything from climate change to hunger to unemployment. Each had evidence of effectiveness and each extended its reach through partnerships. The report finds patterns among the various expansion routes the organizations took—and apparently readers are taking note. They have downloaded the report more than 2,200 times since its September launch.Not a bad number for a report only three months old.

Wallace editorial team

2017-12-14T05:00:00Z

We Expanded Our Library This Year. Which Items Stood Out?

3/9/2023 6:22:56 PM

The Wallace Foundation / News and Media / Wallace Blog / Your Top Picks and Ours We Expanded Our Library This Year Posted: 12/14/2017 Author: Wallace editorial team

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