Latest Our Blog

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Reflecting on Our 2025 CEP Results

Our latest Grantee Perception Report, conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, showed progress across impact on grantees, strength of relationships, and communications. Here, we share notable insights and outline how they’ll shape our strategy and operations moving forward.

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Perspectives: Science Scores Are Down. But We Know What Would Improve Them.

The average 8th-grade NAEP science score decreased four points since 2019. These results are a warning, but they can also be a turning point. Emma Banay, Christine Cunningham, and James Ryan call for investment in K-12 inquiry-based science learning that is active, relevant, and engaging, both in and out of school.

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Perspectives - Missing Key to Student Engagement: Teachers’ Time

Teachers’ time is one of the most valuable resources in education. Yet too often, much of it is dedicated to non-student-facing work. Jessica Fredston-Hermann shares three practices school and district leaders can use to help teachers reclaim time to foster deeper student engagement and improve outcomes.

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What We’re Learning From Our Investments in Reducing Chronic Absenteeism

Chronic absenteeism remains one of the most pressing challenges facing schools today, but the field lacks rigorous evidence on the key drivers and potential solutions to reduce it. Here, we share early lessons from five studies focused on generating actionable insights to boost attendance from Pre-K through high school.

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Perspectives: The Science of Reading and Play Go Hand-in-Hand. Schools Must Make It Happen

As districts embrace the science of reading to improve literacy outcomes, there’s a real risk of squeezing out something just as vital to early learning: play. Meghan McCormick and Carly Roberts make the case that play doesn’t compete with explicit reading instruction. Instead, it helps build the very skills kids need to become strong readers in the first place.