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.

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Scheduling and Staffing Strategy Guides

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Student-Based Budgeting School Support & Accountability Take Action

August 16, 2022

How to Enable Transformational Change in K-12 School Districts

"Do Now, Build Toward" (DNBT) is a sustainable approach to transformation that builds on research, incorporates practical limitations, and uses a community-driven, iterative framework. More »

Publications Tools District Leaders Equity Funding & Portfolio Learn Assess Explore Take Action Learn More
July 06, 2022

10 Steps to Become an Equity Detective

Learn how to become an “equity detective”: a leader who actively looks for and takes action to address structural and systemic inequities in schools and school systems. More »

Board Members Publications Equity District Leaders Leadership School Support & Accountability Take Action
July 06, 2022

Mobilizing Resources to Advance Excellence and Equity for All Students

Doable starting points and tools for leaders to mobilize resources and create excellent and equitable experiences for students. More »

Publications COVID-19 Equity District Leaders School Leaders Teaching Learn Take Action
Spring 2022

ESSER Guidance for School Staffing, Spending, and Scheduling

The ESSER Guidance for School Staffing, Spending, and Scheduling guides provide a blueprint for organizing resources for a sustainable ESSER investment strategy—one that has an immediate... More »

Publications Tools District Leaders Professional Learning School Leaders School Design Leadership School Support & Accountability Community Engagement Toolkits
February 03, 2022

ESSER Plan Communication

5 Key Messaging Imperatives to Build Alignment Among District Leaders, School Boards, and Cabinets More »

Presentations Publications Tools COVID-19 District Leaders Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting Leadership Community Engagement
Aug 31, 2021

Investing ESSER Funds Equitably

The COVID-19 pandemic hasn’t impacted all students in the same ways. For many students - including students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, students with disabilities, and... More »

Publications Equity District Leaders State Leaders Leadership School Support & Accountability
Schools Start Here Series

The Schools Start Here series dives into the resource side of ESSER strategy and planning. These guides offer a blueprint for how to organize resources as part of a sustainable ESSER... More »

Publications Equity District Leaders Funding & Portfolio Professional Learning School Leaders School Design School Support & Accountability Community Engagement
May 2021

COVID-19 Reopening and Recovery: Toolkit for Districts and Schools

From equitably meeting students' increased needs, to planning new budgets, to creating safe and effective models for hybrid and fully-remote learning — the options facing districts and... More »

Equity District Leaders COVID-19 School Leaders State Leaders Leadership School Support & Accountability Community Engagement Toolkits
August 2020

COVID Comeback Models

Explore concrete examples of possible student groups, schedules, and staff roles for various hybrid models. More »

Publications Tools COVID-19 District Leaders School Leaders School Design Teaching School Support & Accountability
January 2019

Transforming School Funding: A Guide to Implementing Student-Based Budgeting

Student-Based Budgeting (SBB) allocates dollars based on enrollment and student need. In this blog, you will find tools and key elements for decision making as you consider SBB for your... More »

District Leaders Equity Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting
December 2018

The Strategic System Snapshot | Mini

A 10-minute self-assessment tool that helps district leaders and others identify which of your strategies are likely to lead to student success—and where there are opportunities to improve. More »

Funding & Portfolio School Design Teaching School Support & Accountability Standards & Instructional Resources Community Engagement
August 2018

Weighted Student Funding

Weighted Student Funding has become a popular initiative for district leaders who seek to allocate scarce resources to schools, especially in the face of stubborn achievement gaps,... More »

Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting Toolkits
Education Resource Strategies

Toolkit: What is Student-Based Budgeting? How can it drive student learning?

SBB is a funding system whereby dollars follow students based on student need, and can help increase funding transparency, equity, and flexibility. More »

Equity District Leaders Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting Toolkits
May 2017

It Takes a System: A Case Study of Denver Public Schools (DPS)

Over the last decade, Denver Public Schools (DPS) became one of the fastest-improving large districts in the country—achieving significant improvement across all student subgroups. Unlike... More »

Publications Special Education Compensation District Leaders Professional Learning Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting School Leaders School Design Teaching Leadership School Support & Accountability Turnaround
May 2015

Following the Dollars to the Classroom Door

More and more districts—and several states—are adopting funding models like student-based budgeting (also called weighted student funding or fair student funding) to increase equity... More »

Publications District Leaders Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting School Leaders School Design
February 2015

Six Opportunities to Restructure Education Resources in Georgia

From 2012 to 2013, ERS partnered with the Georgia Department of Education to address how the state and a few districts manage their resources. These reports highlight three opportunities... More »

Presentations Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting State Leaders States
December 2014

Spinning Straw into Gold

K–12 education resources are often allocated non-strategically, with schools spending time and money on activities that have little relationship to student outcomes. States can help... More »

Publications State Leaders School Support & Accountability States
April 15, 2014

Student-Based Budgeting Webinar

The following is a video recording of our April 3 webinar on student-based budgeting, based off our recent publication, "Transforming School Funding: A Guide to Implementing Student-Based... More »

Presentations District Leaders Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting
June 2013

Student-Based Budgeting Video

This short video was created to offer advice to principals considering implementing a student-based budgeting system, also known as weighted-student funding. More »

Videos Funding & Portfolio Student-Based Budgeting
March 23, 2013

DREAM

You can do less with less, or you can change your district's cost model by rethinking how schools and systems are structured. DREAM allows you to adjust key cost levers in your district... More »

Tools District Leaders Student-Based Budgeting Teaching Turnaround
March 15, 2013

Essential School Practices

Before schools can systematically implement a district’s vision for excellent school practices, district leadership must clearly articulate exactly what school strategies they believe... More »

Publications District Leaders School Leaders School Design School Support & Accountability
March 2013

Leadership District Story: Charlotte-Mecklenburg

In 2006, Charlotte-Mecklenburg School District made a bold move. It began to strategically staff a subset of its lowest-performing schools with its district’s best principals. Five years... More »

Presentations Videos District Leaders School Leaders Leadership School Support & Accountability
March 2013

School Support District Story: Denver

By transforming its central office from a compliance watchdog to a service and strategic partner, Denver Public Schools (DPS) was able to leverage data, technology, and training to... More »

Videos District Leaders School Support & Accountability
March 2013

Why Now?

Hear from: Sam Franklin, Executive Director of the Office of Teacher Effectiveness, Pittsburgh Public Schools Brian Pick, Deputy Chief Academic Officer, D.C. Public Schools Alyssa... More »

Videos District Leaders Leadership School Support & Accountability Standards & Instructional Resources
February 28, 2013

School System 20/20 Infographic

The School System 20/20 infographic lets you see the possibilities for system transformation through ERS' seven-strategy framework. It illustrates the challenges to reallocating people,... More »

Presentations District Leaders Leadership School Support & Accountability Standards & Instructional Resources
December 19, 2012

The Teaching Job Analyses and Worksheets: Section 4

The Teaching Job worksheet series includes worksheets with step-by-step instructions to help you calculate and measure teaching effectiveness. These analyses can help identify your... More »

Tools School Leaders Teaching School Support & Accountability
January 2011

Turning Around the Nation’s Lowest Performing Schools

Across the country, states and school districts are focusing on turning around the nation’s lowest-performing schools. This focus on school turnaround, while welcome, is not new. And... More »

Publications District Leaders School Leaders School Support & Accountability Turnaround
September 2010

Turnaround Schools Resource Guide

Turnaround efforts at individual schools will not result in widespread, sustainable change without fundamental shifts in the way districts evaluate school, student, and teacher needs and... More »

Publications District Leaders School Support & Accountability Turnaround
April 2010

Breaking the Cycle of Failure in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools

In this case study of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Strategic Staffing Initiative, Education Resource Strategies (ERS) and the Aspen Institute tell the important story of how one district is... More »

Presentations Publications District Leaders School Leaders School Design Teaching School Support & Accountability Turnaround
2008

The Strategic School

How can schools best use the resources they already have? That question is at the heart of this inspiring book for school and district administrators challenged with increasing student... More »

Publications District Leaders Funding & Portfolio School Leaders School Design Teaching School Support & Accountability

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