For students, the first day of school is rarely just another day. It’s the culmination of a summer filled with emotions — anticipation, uncertainty, hope. Students walk through school doors wondering: “Will I succeed here — not just academically, but socially, emotionally, and in preparing for my future?”
Student engagement is one of the most powerful predictors of academic success. When students are engaged, they show up, think critically, and feel connected to their learning environment. This blog post describes each type of engagement, behaviors educators can look for, ways for educators to support the type of engagement, and real-world examples.
I’m discovering something even more powerful than I expected. Teachers aren't just implementing a program or an initiative – they're fundamentally changing what it means to put students at the center of learning.
Creating the conditions for student support systems to flourish requires intentionality not just at individual schools or local school districts but at the state policy level as well.
NCLD is a founding member of the GRAD Partnership, established in 2022 with the shared commitment to working in collaboration with leading education organizations to maximize our collective impact on students’ ability to succeed in school.
When we signed on as an Intermediary partner with the GRAD Partnership - an initiative housed in Johns Hopkins University’s Everyone Graduates Center - my professional excitement was matched only by my personal investment in this work. As President and CEO of the Community Foundation of Greater Dubuque, I've spent years witnessing the power of collective impact to transform systems. As the grandmother and guardian of two teenage boys navigating high school in a post-pandemic world, I've experienced firsthand the urgent need for that transformation in schools.
A golden rule of improvement work is “you can do anything, but you can’t do everything.” That is certainly true when it comes to displaying improvement data. Putting the right data, at the right time, in the hands of those who need it, is key to improving student outcomes.
In our fast-paced world of education, it's easy to rush from task to task without pausing to ask ourselves a critical question: What are we learning from our experiences? In our April community of practice session, we explored how intentional reflection can be a powerful driver of growth for ourselves, our teams, and ultimately our students.
This year’s Summit featured a presentation highlighting the work of two GRAD Partnership intermediary organizations implementing student success systems in rural contexts.
At Globe High School in Arizona, a new GRAD Partnership school, history is still alive and being created every day. Cross-posted from Rural Schools Collaborative April 17, 2025 Located about two hours east of Phoenix lies the scenic town of…