K-12 Education

Governors are leading efforts across the country to ensure that students in their states graduate prepared to succeed in postsecondary, the workforce, and life. The NGA K-12 Education Team supports Governors in these efforts by regularly bringing together Governors’ education policy advisors to connect with and learn from each other and national and state experts in the field; providing ongoing responsive and proactive technical assistance; and through the development of resources and reports that spotlight promising practices and actionable strategies on timely topics, including addressing students’ academic needs and well-being and strengthening the educator workforce.

Latest


Major Initiatives 

Governors’ Education Policy Advisor Convenings

The NGA K-12 Education Team plans to host a national convening of Governors’ education policy advisors in September 2024 to support gubernatorial efforts on key K-12 policies and priorities, including academic growth, student well-being and educator recruitment and retention.  The convening will also provide Governors’ education policy advisors with an opportunity to connect with their peers from across the country.  See recaps of similar meetings in May 2023 and October 2023.


Technical Assistance Resources

In addition to ongoing responsive support, the NGA K-12 Education Team is currently supporting a bipartisan mix of nine Governors’ offices (four Republican, five Democratic) through the 2023-2024 Academic Supports and Student and School Staff Well-Being Project


Timely and Ongoing Resources

NGA’s K-12 Education Team regularly produces informative briefings, podcasts, and webinars featuring subject matter experts in the field, Governors’ staff and state education leaders.  The team’s webinar series spotlights State Strategies for Addressing K-12 Student Needs from state budgets to parent, family, and community engagement and supporting students with unique needs.  The State Snapshots for Strengthening the Educator Workforce podcast series covers a range of topics related to teacher and principal recruitment and retention.

State Strategies For Addressing K-12 Student Needs

A series of conversations with subject matter experts, state education leaders, and practitioners to explore gubernatorial strategies for addressing students’ academic needs and well-being, hosted by the NGA’s Center for Best Practices K-12 Education Team.


State Snapshots For Strengthening The Educator Workforce

A series of conversations with nationally recognized experts in the education field on strategies and promising practices for strengthening educator recruitment and retention, including for advancing school leadership policies and priorities at the gubernatorial and state level, hosted by the NGA’s Center for Best Practices K-12 Education Team. For additional information, research, and resources on principals and school leaders, please visit the Wallace Foundation Knowledge Center.


Meet The Team

  • Seth Gerson, Program Director
  • Devon Nir, Policy Analyst
  • Ekaan Ahmad, Policy Coordinator

K-12 Topics

Student and Staff Well-Being

Strategies for Parent, Family, Student and Community Engagement with K-12 Schools

Strategies for Parent, Family, Student and Community Engagement with K-12 Schools

This webinar discusses strategies to improve parent, family, student and community engagement with K-12 schools. Panelists explain the research in this field, offer recommendations for state policy leaders and highlight ...
Governors’ Education Policy Advisors Institute 2022

Governors’ Education Policy Advisors Institute 2022

Governors’ advisors met in Greensboro, North Carolina to discuss current challenges and state solutions in K-12 education policy. By Seth Gerson & Catherine Van Ness The National Governors Association (NGA) ...
Improving Mental Health Services and Increasing Supportive Services in Schools

Improving Mental Health Services and Increasing Supportive Services in Schools

On Thursday, August 25th, the National Governors Association Bipartisan Working Group on School and Community Safety hosted the first of a three-part briefing series on the “Bipartisan Safer Communities Act ...
Governor Murphy Introduces Chair’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health Care

Governor Murphy Introduces Chair’s Initiative: Strengthening Youth Mental Health Care

At the closing session of NGA’s Summer Meeting 2022, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy accepted the NGA Chair’s gavel from Arkansas Governor Asa Hutchinson and underlined the importance of Governors’ ...
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Academic Supports

National Governors Association, Council of Chief State School Officers Note Summer Opportunities and Cite Examples of State Leadership As state and educational leaders grapple with the effects of the COVID-19 ...
State Leaders Outline Strategies for Accelerating Student Learning Amid Pandemic

State Leaders Outline Strategies for Accelerating Student Learning Amid Pandemic

Governors and state chiefs are moving quickly to develop plans that include a range of new strategies, targeted interventions and grant programs designed to close achievement gaps and prepare all ...
State Plans for Accelerating Student Learning: A Preliminary Analysis

State Plans for Accelerating Student Learning: A Preliminary Analysis

As states shift their focus from the immediate emergency of COVID-19 school closures toward the reopening of schools and educational centers in the summer and fall, there has been growing ...
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Summer Camps and Summer Learning Opportunities

Summary Early literacy has been elevated by governors across the nation as an indicator of success in school and in life. The 2019 Governor’s Pocket Guide to Early Literacy underscores the ...
Governor’s Pocket Guide to Early Literacy

Governor’s Pocket Guide to Early Literacy


Educator Workforce

Community Renewal Task Force Co-Chair Missouri Governor Mike Parson, hosted a virtual session focused on the state of the educator workforce as states and territories prepare for the 2022-2023 school ...
Community Renewal Task Force Meeting on the Educator Workforce

Community Renewal Task Force Meeting on the Educator Workforce

In this webinar, Dr. Paul Manna of William and Mary shares findings from his new report, How Can State Policy Support Local School Districts as They Develop Comprehensive and Aligned ...
State Policy Levers to Support Principal Pipelines

State Policy Levers to Support Principal Pipelines

On Thursday, Feb. 21, 2019, the Education Division hosted a webinar on school leadership, titled “State Highlight: Louisiana’s Efforts to Develop and Support School Leaders.” During this webinar the division ...
State Highlight: Louisiana’s Efforts to Develop and Support School Leaders

State Highlight: Louisiana’s Efforts to Develop and Support School Leaders

Hosted by the National Governors Association (NGA) and Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), this webinar highlighted how governors and state education chiefs in Delaware and Tennessee have worked ...
School Leadership Under ESSA: State Highlights

School Leadership Under ESSA: State Highlights


NGA K-12 Education Library

Let’s Get Ready for AI in Education

Let’s Get Ready for AI in Education

As part of the Let’s Get Ready! Educating All Americans for Success initiative, NGA Chair Colorado Governor Jared Polis is hosting a series of regional convenings to support Governors as ...
Let’s Get Ready to Better Measure Success

Let’s Get Ready to Better Measure Success

Let’s Get Ready: Educating All Americans for Success is designed to support Governors in driving innovation to tackle opportunity gaps that limit economic mobility. It starts with identifying those gaps ...
Let’s Get Ready to Educate for Opportunity

Let’s Get Ready to Educate for Opportunity

NGA Chair Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ Let’s Get Ready initiative is working with educators, parents and families, students, researchers, and community and business leaders to identify the best education policies ...
Education for Life – A Conversation with Dr. Steven Levitt

Education for Life – A Conversation with Dr. Steven Levitt

Measuring outcomes is one of the primary goals of NGA Chair Colorado Governor Jared Polis’ “Let’s Get Ready: Educating All Americans for Success” initiative. How are we measuring outcomes to ...
Insights and Opportunities on Public Sector Skills Based Strategy Efforts

Insights and Opportunities on Public Sector Skills Based Strategy Efforts

Since 2021, Governors in more than twenty states have taken steps to remove unnecessary bachelor’s degree requirements for jobs in the public sector. This momentum for innovation, spurred by a ...
Governors’ Education Policy Advisors Get Ready

Governors’ Education Policy Advisors Get Ready

At the 2024 Governors’ Education Policy Advisors Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, Governor’s advisors were honored to be joined by Alabama Governor Kay Ivey. Governor Ivey has been a national leader ...
Strategic School Staffing and Reimagining The Teaching Role

Strategic School Staffing and Reimagining The Teaching Role

In this webinar, Dr. Karen Hawley Miles, Chief Executive Officer, and Dr. Ventura Rodriguez, Partner of Education Resource Strategies provide an overview of strategic school staffing, including models underway across ...
State Policies That Support School Leadership Development and Support

State Policies That Support School Leadership Development and Support

In this webinar, Dr. Bonnie Fusarelli, Distinguished Professor, University Faculty Scholar & Executive Director of NC State’s Leadership Preparation Programs, shares an overview of the impact of principals and school ...
Spotlighting Missouri’s Efforts to Strengthen Education for Students, Families, and Schools Across The State

Spotlighting Missouri’s Efforts to Strengthen Education for Students, Families, and Schools Across The State

This webinar brings together Jamie Birch, Director of Policy for Governor Mike Parson of Missouri, and Dr. Margie Vandeven, Commissioner of Education for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary ...
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