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.

Budget Hold'em for Districts

Trade-offs are the name of the game

Strategic System Snapshot Mini thumbnail

The Strategic System Snapshot | Mini

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States District Leaders

January 30, 2020

ERS Briefing: Supporting School Turnaround

Read the Briefing In turnaround schools, traditional approaches to school improvement (and some say, even the recent seven billion dollar federal investment in school improvement)... More »

Publications ESSA School Design District Leaders Turnaround
January 21, 2020

Reporting for Equity: Financial Transparency Guide

A guide outlining the 5 principles of equity-focused spending reporting, including essential questions and examples of effective reporting practices. More »

Presentations Equity District Leaders Funding & Portfolio
November 20, 2019

The Strategic CFO

3 mindsets and 5 core functions to help CFOs align resources to strategy More »

Publications District Leaders Funding & Portfolio
Districts at Work: Tulsa Tales Mini-Podcast

Real stories from real districts: How Tulsa Public Schools supported professional development for teachers — on a budget More »

Presentations Videos District Leaders School Design Professional Learning School Leaders Leadership Funding & Portfolio
ERS’ Work in California: Ensuring Every Child Is Ready for Tomorrow

State Leaders States
Education Resource Strategies, April 9, 2019

Districts at Work

Profiles of eight school systems transforming how the central office supports schools, and seeing student results More »

School Design Equity District Leaders Professional Learning Teaching Leadership
Toolkit: Advice for New Superintendents

As a new superintendent - whether it's your first time in that role or just new to a community- you'll face a tremendous number of challenges. The key is knowing where to begin. More »

District Leaders Leadership Toolkits
February 12, 2019

Seizing the Moment for Transformation—Whether Facing School Budget Cuts or Adding Back Revenue

Nine ways school systems can empower schools and restructure resources for student success More »

District Leaders Teaching State Leaders Funding & Portfolio
November 15, 2018

Toolkit: New Teacher Support

All school and district leaders want to grow their new teachers into effective educators who stay at their schools - yet most feel constrained by limited budgets. But it is possible to... More »

District Leaders Professional Learning Teaching Toolkits
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 Student-Based Budgeting Funding & Portfolio
January 02, 2019

School Design Packet

Through years of research and practice around school resource use, we have found that high-performing, high-growth schools are responding to the changing context in education by using... More »

Tools District Leaders School Design School Leaders
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 »

Tools District Leaders School Leaders Community Engagement
November 15, 2018

Growing Great Teachers - New Strategies to Support New Teachers

Every year, school districts welcome – and then lose – thousands of promising new teachers. For too many, the job is overwhelming, which can lead to teacher shortage in schools. How can... More »

District Leaders Teaching Professional Learning
November 08, 2018

Resource Equity: A Primer for State Boards of Education

At the 2018 NASBE annual conference, Karen Hawley Miles presented on Strategies to Foster Resource Equity to an audience of about 100 state leaders More »

Equity State Leaders States
October 01, 2018

What is Resource Equity?

In this working paper, we've identified many - often hidden - "dimensions of equity," and we explain how each links to student outcomes, identify typical sources of inequities within... More »

Publications ESSA District Leaders Equity
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 »

Presentations District Leaders Student-Based Budgeting Funding & Portfolio
September 10, 2018

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 Student-Based Budgeting Funding & Portfolio Toolkits
June 2018

Low Teacher Salaries 101

In 40 states, the real value of teacher salaries declined from 2010 to 2015. How we got here, why it matters, and how we can pay teachers fairly and strategically. More »

Compensation District Leaders State Leaders
June 5, 2018

Bridging the Budget Gap and Accelerating Student Learning in Los Angeles Unified (LAUSD)

The ERS Resource Map for LAUSD analyzes resource allocation across the district, with a special emphasis on distribution of funding; teacher compensation, strategic retention, and... More »

Presentations District Leaders Funding & Portfolio
March 6, 2018

Toolkit: Advancing Equitable School Funding under ESSA

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) gives states new financial transparency tools to better understand and become leaders for resource equity, but only if they are used well. These... More »

Presentations ESSA State Leaders States
January 19, 2018

Finding Time for Collaborative Planning

We share six practical strategies that schools can use to find more time for collaborative planning, using the resources they have today. More »

District Leaders Professional Learning
January 18, 2018

School Systems Leaders Fellowship Resources

Do these challenges sound familiar? A higher bar for student learning and greater student needs, which requires new ways of organizing resources and investment. Unsustainable cost... More »

Presentations District Leaders
October 2017

Budget Hold’em for Districts

Budget Hold'em for Districts is more than a game, it’s an interactive exploration of the thoughtful trade-offs school administrators have to make in these challenging budget times. More »

Tools District Leaders Funding & Portfolio
August 15, 2017

Professional Learning Diagnostic Tool

How can your school system better connect professional learning to the everyday work of teaching—and to a systemwide strategy for student success? We studied four school systems that... More »

Tools District Leaders Professional Learning School Leaders Teaching
August 01, 2017

School Finance Packet for National Council of State Legislators (NCSL) Annual Meeting

State legislators face ever-increasing challenges around school finance—scarce revenues, lawsuits, new mandated reporting, and so on. These resources will demystify some of these complex... More »

Tools District Leaders States
March 2015 (Updated May 2017)

Designing Schools that Work

Through years of research and practice around school resource use and principal training, we have found that high-performing, high-growth schools are responding to the changing context in... More »

Publications School Design District Leaders School Leaders
June 20, 2017

Informing Equity

This report is a deep look into K-12 spending and resource allocation in charter and district-run schools in Oakland, comparing them across three dimensions: student need, resource... More »

Special Education Publications Compensation District Leaders Equity Teaching School Leaders Funding & Portfolio
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 School Design Professional Learning Student-Based Budgeting Teaching School Leaders Leadership Funding & Portfolio School Support & Accountability Turnaround
April 2017

Igniting the Learning Engine

How school systems accelerate teacher effectiveness and student growth through Connected Professional Learning More »

Publications District Leaders Professional Learning
February 22, 2017

Same Resources, Better Student Outcomes

A school system’s people, time, and money are always limited, so these critical resources need to be used wisely to best serve students. Without adequate data and analysis, though, it’s... More »

Publications School Design District Leaders

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