By Lauren Burgess

The Georgia Department of Education’s Office of School Improvement will soon partner together with Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research to offer 10 school districts school improvement training. 

The Proving Ground Institute, a program part of Harvard’s CEPR, works together with school districts to help identify and test solutions to overcome obstacles to student achievement. The Institute’s continuous improvement approach helps school districts learn to gather and use evidence rapidly and effectively. 

“In Georgia, we are committed to continuous improvement and providing high-quality services and supports so all schools can prepare their students for successful futures,” said State School Superintendent Richard Woods. “This partnership with Harvard’s Proving Ground provides crucial support to educational leaders as they address some of the most serious issues facing their school districts.”

50 staff members from the 10 chosen districts will participate in intensive four-day training, hosted through the Proving Ground Institute. Members will engage in professional development workshops, coaching, and action planning that will focus on equipping each district with tools to improve on issues impacting each of the 10 school districts. 

To put what they’re learning into practice, the district teams will review their data on student attendance and chronic absenteeism and learn about evidence-based strategies that have improved student attendance. 

By the end of the institute, district teams will identify a specific problem related to chronic absenteeism in their district, identify solutions to address the problem, and develop a detailed action plan for a selected solution they can implement in their districts.