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Essential Question 6

Do students have access to quality school environments, including quality curricula and instruction, experienced teachers, effective leaders, and adequate funding?

 

About this Essential Question

This question examines students’ access to school resources and opportunities that affect their outcomes, including quality curricula and instruction, experienced teachers, effective leaders, and adequate funding. For example, having experienced teachers can lead to higher instructional quality and more effective classroom management, and effective school leaders can foster a positive school culture and successfully implement school improvement initiatives. Conversely, insufficient school funding might lead to larger class sizes or limited access to advanced coursework. District leaders, policymakers, and education advocates can use this question to assess how resources are allocated, understand differences in educational opportunities, and develop strategies to ensure all students have access to high-quality learning environments.

Probing Questions

Use these probing questions to dive deeper on the essential question or approach it through a different lens. Feel free to adapt these questions further or come up with your own.  

  • What qualities do families view as essential for a “quality school environment”? How do district and school leaders define and measure “quality school environments”?  How well do current measures capture essential qualities?
  • How do curriculum offerings, instructional resources, access to experienced teachers, and effective school leaders vary based on where students live and attend school? How do they vary by student race and ethnicity, home language, family income level, and/or disability status?  
  • How do funding formulas and resource allocation decisions impact different schools’ abilities to provide quality educational services? What factors contribute to these differences?
  • How do district and school policies and conditions impact schools’ abilities to deliver quality curricula and instruction? What factors contribute to these differences?
  • How do teacher recruitment, support, and retention practices impact different schools’ abilities to recruit and retain experienced and effective staff? What factors contribute to these differences?
  • How might we improve access to quality school environments? What policies or conditions could be improved? Who needs to be involved?