# data[].attributes.body
This document captures the author's thoughts and analysis of his educational and professional background in the context of the Educational Initiatives selected for study.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Authors Final Thoughts on the Four Questions 7.03 EDT50900 10-10-2025

# data[].attributes.headline
The Early Childhood Education Initiative

# data[].attributes.subject
The Early Childhood Education Initiative

# data[].attributes.body
"The Early Childhood Education Initiative is a cost-free, non-residential early childhood education plan to develop initially up to six Early Childhood Education Resource Centers (ECRCs) operated through subsidiaries of Milton Hershey School. These ECRCs are designed for children from birth to age 5 from economically disadvantaged and at-risk backgrounds with the goal of encouraging the development of a child's educational, cognitive, social, emotional, and physical well-being. The Initiative is designed to expand the impact and reach of the vision of Milton Hershey School's founders, Milton and Catherine Hershey."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Early Childhood Education Initiative

# data[].attributes.headline
5 Keys to Social and Emotional Learning Success

# data[].attributes.subject
5 Keys to Social and Emotional Learning Success

# data[].attributes.body
"Studies show that sustained and well-integrated social and emotional learning (SEL) programs can help schools engage their students and improve achievement. Explore the classroom practices that make up the best and most effective SEL programs."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
5 Keys to Social and Emotional Learning Success

# data[].attributes.headline
Lawmakers look at solutions to teacher shortage

# data[].attributes.subject
Lawmakers look at solutions to teacher shortage

# data[].attributes.body
A brief look into the socio-political factors involved in seeking solutions to the teacher shortage phenomenon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
VIDEO: Lawmakers look at solutions to teacher shortage

# data[].attributes.headline
Teacher shortage crisis prompts a number of possible solutions

# data[].attributes.subject
Teacher shortage crisis prompts a number of possible solutions

# data[].attributes.body
Pennsylvania's efforts to address the ongoing challenge of finding solutions to the teacher shortage problem.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Teacher shortage crisis prompts a number of possible solutions

# data[].attributes.headline
Early Childhood Education: The Power of Interactions

# data[].attributes.subject
Early Childhood Education: The Power of Interactions

# data[].attributes.body
"Join us in a conversation with Macy Vierra, an early childhood educator at Wolf Ranch Elementary, as we explore what makes for successful interactions with Pre-K students."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Early Childhood Education: The Power of Interactions

# data[].attributes.headline
The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning

# data[].attributes.subject
The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning

# data[].attributes.body
"SEL has the power to teach nonviolence, promote understanding, endow children with purpose and meaning, and provide the skills and behaviors that can create a more inclusive, healthy, and positive future."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Impact of Social and Emotional Learning

# data[].attributes.headline
The Long-Term Advantages of Early Childhood Education

# data[].attributes.subject
The Long-Term Advantages of Early Childhood Education

# data[].attributes.body
"Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) involves teaching and facilitating skills that students and adults need to be successful at home, at school, in the workplace, in life. When students and adults have social and emotional skills they are self and socially aware, and have the ability to manage themselves both independently and while interacting with others: They can listen to perspectives of others, use positive communication, be aware of cultural issues and differences, set and achieve goals, and take personal responsibility for their learning."

# data[].attributes.body
1. States can invest in the development of high-quality principals by establishing strong preparation standards for administrators. States and the federal government can invest in the development of high-quality principals who work to include teachers in decision-making and foster positive school cultures. Effective principal preparation programs are fundable under Title II of ESSA, as are principal mentoring and professional development opportunities to continuously hone effective school leadership skills throughout the career. States and districts can apply for funds from ESSA’s School Leader Recruitment and Support Program, which authorizes competitive grants to recruit and train principals for high-need schools.

2. States and districts can survey teachers to assess the quality of the teaching and learning environment and to guide improvements. One example is the Teaching, Empowering, Leading and Learning (TELL) survey, with questions—about a school’s culture, a principal’s leadership, and relationships among colleagues—that are strong predictors of teachers’ job satisfaction and career plans.⁴⁵ This can be supported through Title II of ESSA.

3. States and the federal government can incentivize professional development strategies and the redesign of schools to provide for greater collaboration. Systematic and sustained collaboration among teachers requires changes in scheduling and resource allocation so that teachers have the time necessary for productive collaboration, which improves teacher efficacy and retention. Districts and schools should update school design, scheduling, and the allocation of resources in order to provide teachers with the time necessary for productive collaboration.⁴⁶

45 Susan M. Johnson, Matthew A. Kraft, and John P. Papay, “How Context Matters in High-Need Schools: The Effects of Teachers’ Working Conditions on Their Professional Satisfaction and Their Students’ Achievement,” Teachers College Record 114, no. 10 (2012): 1–39.

46 Lois Brown Easton, “From Professional Development to Professional Learning,” Phi Delta Kappan 89, no. 10 (2008): 755. See also, Linda Darling-Hammond, The Flat World and Education: How America’s Commitment to Equity Will Determine Our Future (New York, NY: Teachers College Press, 2010): 229; Karen Seashore Louis, Helen M. Marks, and Sharon Kruse, “Teachers’ Professional Community in Restructuring Schools,” American Educational Research Journal 33, no. 4 (1996): 757–798.

# data[].attributes.body
Of the initiatives that appear next in ranked order, the author chose to examine Early Childhood Education, Social and Emotional Learning, and Teacher Shortage Solutions more fully in the succeeding sections of this project.