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

State Education Trends for 2024

Strategies for Supporting Effective Afterschool and Summer Learning & Enrichment Strategies

State Strategies for Addressing K-12 Student Needs

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:

Four Governors’ offices are addressing students’ academic needs (e.g., math, literacy, tutoring, chronic absenteeism, and summer learning and enrichment).
Five Governors’ offices are supporting student and school staff mental health and well-being. This project builds off a 18-month, six-state Student and Staff Well-Being Technical Assistance Project completed in June 2022.

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.

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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.

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Meet The Team

Seth Gerson, Program Director
Jillian Meinhardt, Policy Analyst
Ekaan Ahmad, Policy Coordinator

K-12 Topics

Student and Staff Well-Being

Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act of 2022 (P.L. 117-159), aims to combat gun violence, and includes provisions that will improve access to mental health care and help equip schools with ...

State of the States: Student and School Staff Health and Wellness

During their State of the State addresses in 2022, Governors highlighted the need for increased social, emotional, mental, and behavioral health supports for students and school staff. By Catherine Van ...

Elevating Opportunities for Innovation: Education Leadership in Colorado and Ohio

Conversations with education leaders in Colorado and Ohio co-hosted by the National Governors Association and Chiefs for Change. This two-part webinar series co-hosted by Chiefs for Change and the National ...

Strategies for Supporting Students with Unique Needs During & Beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic

This series of webinars explores strategies for supporting students with unique needs as they recover from disrupted school years. Panelists offer lessons learned and promising practices, especially related to the ...

Academic Supports

On Jul. 9, 2018, the Education Division, in partnership with NGA's Health and Economic Opportunity Divisions, presented a webinar on Chronic Absenteeism. The session features national and state experts from ...

Educator Workforce

The role of the public school principal has expanded dramatically in recent decades. The expanded role means they are now significant multipliers of effective teaching and have a real opportunity ...