Metro Nashville Public Schools’ Investment in Instructional Leadership
Like many districts during the pandemic, MNPS invested heavily in strategies to accelerate academics, such as high-dosage tutoring and high-quality instructional materials. But two decisions set MNPS apart: The district gave every school leader consistent, actionable guidelines that positioned them to focus squarely on academics. Taking the form of a “principal playbook,” these…
Examining School-Level Teacher Turnover Trends (2021-25): A New Angle on a Pervasive Issue
We’ve updated this analysis, originally published in May 2023, to reflect new 2025 data from six states. Ensuring that every student has access to consistent, high-quality teaching is more important now than ever, as schools continue to work tirelessly to accelerate learning. But high levels of teacher turnover strain districts’ abilities to meet this goal…
How Lubbock ISD Analyzed the ROI of CTE Pathways to Inform Decision-Making
Lubbock ISD was faced with a challenge: Texas’ new accountability system set higher standards for a district to receive an “A” rating, requiring a higher percentage of College, Career, and Military Readiness graduates than ever before. At the same time, facing declining enrollment and fewer dollars, district leaders knew they needed to think critically about…
5 Intertwining Financial Challenges New England Districts Are Facing
If New England is to sustain strong public schools—and reverse troubling trends in student outcomes—leaders must first understand the scale and intertwining nature of the financial challenges now shaping the region’s education systems.
The District Budget Process Tune-Up: 5 Steps for Strategic Finance Leaders in a Challenging Moment
Do more with less. District leaders have been coming up against this mantra for decades, but this current moment of intense instability is bringing it to the forefront at an unprecedented level. Declining enrollment, flat or declining revenue, rising costs—the combination of these constraints is requiring district leaders to deliver more with fewer resources. Meanwhile, widespread uncertainty means that public distrust in education has been brewing,…
Seven Integrated Strategies for School System Design
School systems are navigating a moment of unprecedented challenge: increased student need, declining enrollment, rising costs, and a fraught funding landscape. And yet, this moment also offers an opportunity for bold leadership to disrupt the status quo and build a better future and meet new goals for student learning. We’ve seen shining examples of districts across the country that have reimagined and modernized how they…
How Alliance College-Ready Public Schools Is Reimagining the Educator Role by Designing Innovative School Schedules
A school schedule is a powerful lever for change. Targeted and strategic shifts in how educators spend their time can have a significant impact on student learning. And in this tough fiscal environment where school system leaders are being asked to improve outcomes with fewer resources, it’s critical that the school schedule is reflective of…
ERS’ Top 5 Resources of 2025
As the new year kicks off, we’d like to show gratitude to everyone—from district, school and state leaders to advocates, researchers, and philanthropic organizations—everyone working tirelessly to ensure that all children get the education they deserve. Because let’s face it, 2025 was a difficult year for public education. A number of compounding factors like enrollment decline, rising costs, and uncertainty around local, state, and federal funding created an unprecedented financial…
Meeting This Moment in K-12 Education: Actionable Resources for District and State Leaders
This four-part series of articles provides more information on the current challenges we face in the education field and offers practical strategies and solutions for district and state leaders looking to navigate the difficult road ahead.
The Shifting Role of State Education Agencies in Supporting District Sustainability
By Ventura Rodriguez and Catherine Premont Note: This is the third brief in a four-part series, in which we reflect on the challenges that we face as a field and offer solutions on how district and state leaders can best navigate the road ahead. Don’t miss out on our other resources published here. Across the…
Reimagining the Teaching Job
An illustration of what the teacher experience looks like now for many teachers, and what it could look like instead by making teaching a more dynamic, rewarding, collaborative, and sustainable profession
Guide to Strategic Budget Reductions
Ways to reorganize resources in service of students and financial efficiency District leaders across the country are navigating a moment of profound uncertainty. Student need is high, growing, and varied, and districts are being asked to deliver more with fewer resources. At the same time, everyone is operating amidst a fraught economic landscape: Federal funding…
When the Future Is Unclear, Start With What Matters Most
Facing declining enrollment, rising costs, and uncertain funding, district leaders must act now. Learn how to lay a strong foundation, strengthen budgeting processes and ROI assessment, and tackle one legacy cost structure—even in volatile times.
Laying the Groundwork for District Success: Texas’ Targeted Approach in a Changing Landscape
This paper offers an in-depth look at the conditions Texas set in place to enable success in districts like Lubbock, and the focused approach to implementation support that enabled the state to create those conditions.
5 Intertwining Financial Challenges Districts Are Facing
By Kaitlyn Chantry, Betty Chang, and Jonathan Travers Note: This is the first in a four-part series, in which we reflect on the challenges that we face as a field and offer solutions on how district and state leaders can best navigate the road ahead. Don’t miss out on our other resources published here. The…
These 12 States Are Most Affected by Federal Education Funding Cuts
With ongoing disruptions and potential cuts to federal education funding, we analyzed three factors that determine how much each state is impacted by changes in federal funding. 12 states are identified as “high risk,” sitting at the intersection of all three risk factors.
Teacher Compensation and Salary Calculator
Explore your options for designing a more effective teacher compensation system within your existing district budget.
Resources for an Adaptive Strategic Plan
This toolkit, developed in partnership with the National Equity Project, can help leaders develop better, more adaptive strategic plans.
Understanding the Economics of the Teaching Job
To catalyze and sustain change to the teaching job, we must redesign the underlying economic structures with new staffing plans, redistributed schedules, competitive compensation models, and adjusted conceptions of what counts as “learning time.”
ERS’ Top 5 Resources of 2024
As we near the end of 2024, we reflect on the inspiring efforts of district leaders nationwide who are working tirelessly to enhance student and teacher experiences, all while navigating the significant challenges of this crucial post-pandemic era. Leaders are grappling with the expiration of ESSER funds, tight budget constraints, and persistent teacher shortages, as…
Return on Investment in Education
System Strategy ROI (SSROI) is an actionable, five-step process that guides district leaders through assessing the impact of school district strategies.
Equity through Innovation: How We Can Harness AI in Education to Transform School
The energy and excitement around artificial intelligence in education is inescapable. The rapid onset and advancements of generative AI and AI-enhanced tools has created passionate discussion about what AI in education could do now or in the future to improve supports and access for students, create a more sustainable job for teachers, or improve efficiency…
Instructional Coaching for Teachers
What is high-quality instructional coaching? Instructional coaching is a professional learning practice in which instructional experts observe teachers in action and provide one-on-one feedback to improve their teaching. Instructional coaching is most effective when observation and feedback cycles are frequent (e.g. every two weeks), coaches are experts in instructional practices and the specific content and…
Understanding the Enabling Conditions for Teaching Job Transformation
Across the country, school leaders are working tirelessly to make the teaching job a more dynamic, rewarding, collaborative, sustainable, and diverse profession. It’s clear that the traditional one-size-fits-all role isn’t working for our educators any longer—nor is it working for our students. But to truly transform the teaching job, leaders need the right foundation. They…
Design-Based Budgeting: A New Alternative to Weighted Student Funding Formulas
As we enter this next phase of post-pandemic schooling, many district leaders are reevaluating their school funding systems in the context of tighter budgets, heightened student and educator needs, and a desire to sustain effective innovations that federal relief dollars made possible during the pandemic. Some districts are considering adopting a new funding formula to…
Redesigning the High School Experience
By redesigning high schools, district leaders can re-engage students, improve teacher experiences, and foster connections between schools and communities. Learn how with our high school toolkit.
How-to Guides for Implementing Strategic School Redesign
These strategic school redesign guides provide concrete guidance for district leaders looking to invest in high-impact priority areas like high-dosage tutoring, expanding postsecondary opportunities for high schoolers, and professional learning and collaboration for teachers..
Beyond the Budget: How Effective and Equitable Public School Funding Works
Enhancing student experiences, retaining high-quality teachers, and driving positive outcomes so often comes down to what resources leaders allocate to which areas of a school district. Public school funding models are the foundations for those decisions. In today’s education landscape, finance leaders—along with the state leaders, district leaders, and community members who support them—can’t simply…
The State Leader’s Role in Reimagining the Teaching Job
The student experience today looks very different than it did even a decade ago. School system leaders are adapting to a post-pandemic environment, while teachers are rethinking lessons to attend to students’ new and increasing needs. Yet despite this rapid change, the basic structure of how we organize schools has remained stagnant for decades—particularly when…
Is your district ready for Student-Based Budgeting?
SBB Readiness Quiz Want to learn more about if SBB is the right funding system for your district? Ready to go deeper into the enabling conditions that exist in your district? Looking to take on funding system transformations? We’d love to hear how we can help.
Tools & Publications
ERS Tools and Publications are trusted resources for education leaders, practitioners, and policymakers seeking guidance to make transformative change. Looking for something you can’t find? Contact us.