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Our public schools are at a crisis point. Federal funding for public education has remained at 2 percent of the federal budget for decades, despite the increase in public school enrollment and the rising cost of education resources and services. This disparity between funding and actual cost means that Congress...

In a recent blog post, LFA Executive Director Rich Long noted the need for tough conversations about hard issues, including race. He wrote that “schools may be one of the few places where we can sit together and learn how to talk about these issues.” The role that schools play...

The 49th annual PDK Poll of the Public Attitudes Toward the Public Schools reveals a public that defines the quality of education beyond the 3R’s of a bygone age. And certainly, despite much of the rhetoric at the national level, they don’t see issues as simply as private vs. public...

Some of the images we’re seeing on television and stories we’re reading about in our local newspapers are describing some of the most disappointing and disheartening moments in the history of our country. What has made it even more alarming? The violence, compounded with the flurry of discussions focusing on...

Educators send back-to-school letters to welcome students and their families to the new school year and keep them up-to-date on their classroom, school or district. These letters offer the chance to highlight new programs, share your educational philosophy and discuss goals for the coming year. Who should send a back-to-school...

"It is for us, the living, rather, to be dedicated here to the unfinished work….” What is the unfinished work? Was Lincoln talking to us in Gettysburg on that November afternoon in 1863? Is he still talking to us in his statement of nearly 154 years ago, a week after...

Several Learning First Alliance member organizations have resources to help teachers and other educators deal with students’ questions on the race-based violent protests in Charlottesville, Va., this past weekend. The American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has assembled lessons and resources to help address the events in Charlottesville with students. The...

The Learning First Alliance recently released its 2017 Back-to-School toolkit, titled "The Secret Life of Public Schools." This document helps educators share their success stories and engage parents, students, key lawmakers and community members, and the general public to support their schools. Below are tips for using social media in...

Sharon Robinson recently retired as president and CEO of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), but she’s planning to continue the work that has defined her career. Robinson has been a staunch advocate for professionalization of the teaching field and has pushed for policies that would enhance...

In addition to picnics, vacations, and beach reading, summertime provides educators the perfect opportunity to look back on the year and plan forward. Throughout my 30 years in education, the months of June, July and August allowed me to reflectively ask “where am I” and then project “where do I...