Pins and Posts: March 2025

CULTIVATING SCHOOL-BASED RELATIONSHIPS

Research shows that when young people have positive school-based relationships, their learning and well-being are supported and enhanced, according to a policy brief from the Learning Policy Institute. The brief highlights practices and approaches that secondary school educators can use to make sure relationships and caring are at the center of their practice. It includes examples of approaches in several areas, including:

• Practices that foster community-building
• Restorative approaches to conflict resolution
• Identity safety
• Student agency
• Social and emotional wellness

Read the brief at bit.ly/4ifxlDD.

STATES ADDRESS STUDENT CELL PHONE USE

A blog post from the Education Commission of the States looks at the growing trend of states and school leaders addressing the use of cell phones in schools. Concerns include student data privacy, social media use, mental health impacts, and distractions during instruction time, author Erin Whinnery notes. Data from the Pew Research Center indicates how widespread the use of technology is among teens with 95% saying they have access to a smartphone, 90% having access to a laptop or desktop computer, and 97% saying they are on the internet daily. Additionally, 46% say they are online “almost constantly.” According to the National Center on Education Statistics, almost 77% of schools have banned cell phone use in school as of 2022. The post includes details from a number of states that have recently enacted state policies or legislation. Read more at bit.ly/3D4nOPx.

MEASURING THE SUCCESS OF SEAD APPROACHES

The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for schools to focus on students’ social and emotional well-being. In fact, in the 2023–24 school year, 83% of principals said they did just that, through social and emotional learning curriculum, according to a report from EdTrust. However, the report notes, such approaches usually aren’t sufficiently broad or integrated. “Just as schools use academic assessments to evaluate whether academic instruction in schools is effective, schools should also use assessments to measure whether they are meeting students’ social and emotional development needs,” the report says. To address this concern, EdTrust and Education Resource Strategies have created guidebooks to help district leaders assess how their school environments are meeting students’ social, emotional, and academic (SEAD) needs. “Education leaders should ensure they are selecting high-quality, research-based, and equity-focused SEAD assessments, as misguided approaches can harm vulnerable students,” the report says. Read more at bit.ly/49naPEA.

TEACHER PAY GAP PERSISTS

The Economic Policy Institute reports that, despite a small improvement in 2023, the pay gap between public school teachers and college graduates in other professions remains large. “Teacher quality is the most important school-related factor influencing student achievement,” the report says. “Closing the growing pay gap between teachers and other college graduate professionals is critical to public education.” Among the key findings:

• The pay penalty for teachers—the gap between the weekly wages of teachers and college graduates working in other professions—grew to a record 26.6% in 2023, a significant increase from 6.1% in 1996.
• On average, teachers earned 73.4 cents for every dollar relative to the earnings of similar other professionals in 2023. This is much less than the 93.9 cents on the dollar they made in 1996.
• Although teachers typically receive better benefits packages than other professionals do, this “benefits advantage” is not sufficiently large to offset the growing wage penalty for teachers.
• The relative teacher weekly wage penalty exceeded 20% in 36 states—the largest was in Colorado at 38.4% and the smallest was in Wyoming at 9.0%.

Read the report at bit.ly/3BithSd.