Terminology

The following terminology provides working definitions for the terms used throughout this site. Each of the curated resources was classified using these terms in order to help users identify the most relevant resources for them. The terms mostly fall into four categories: Audience, Stage of the Educator Pathway, Stage of the initiative, and selected topics of interest (diversifying the workforce, Grow Your Own, multilingual learners, among others). Each resource page also includes a description of the product type, the product format, and a direct link to the resource.

Audience

We have identified the target audience(s) for each of the resources, to make it easier for users to find resources that pertain to their decision-making power (or sphere of influence). We define each of the audience types below:

• Local Education Agencies (LEA): administrative bodies, such as school districts or county/city education offices, responsible for managing and overseeing public education at the local level within a defined geographical area.
• State Education Agencies (SEA): governmental entities responsible for overseeing and implementing education policies, regulations, and programs at the state level, often working in coordination with local education agencies.
• Tribal educational agency (TEA): the agency, department, or instrumentality of an eligible Indian tribe that is primarily responsible for supporting tribal students’ elementary and secondary education, which may include early learning. For the purposes of this site, resources that pertain to TEAs are coded under SEAs.
• Institutions of Higher Education (IHE): colleges or universities that, in this context, offer courses and degrees specifically designed to train and prepare individuals for careers in teaching and education-related fields. These are known as Educator Preparation Programs (EPP).
• Teachers (current or prospective): individuals who are either actively employed as educators or are aspiring to pursue careers in teaching roles within educational institutions.
• Community (wider education community): comprises other interest holders such as parents, students, educational policymakers, advocacy groups, and other community members who contribute to and are affected by educational practices and policies.

Stage of the Educator Pathway

Different strategies and initiatives target different stages of educator development: while some aim to attract young adults or other professionals into the field of education and teaching, others focus on retaining in-service teachers and reducing turnover. Resources were classified into one or more of the following five stagesⁱ:

• Attract: The stage within the educator pathway that involves implementing strategies to recruit individuals with diverse backgrounds and skillsets to pursue careers in education, fostering interest and engagement in the profession. It can also refer to strategies to attract individuals that currently support education services in non-teaching ways (i.e. paraprofessionals, school staff, volunteer parents). Some examples of relevant strategies include Grow Your Own, alternative certification pathways, and K-12 work-based learning opportunities.
• Prepare: The stage within the educator pathway that encompasses the process of equipping aspiring teachers with the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies through formal education programs, practical experiences, and professional learning opportunities. This can take place inside or outside Institutions of Higher Education. Examples of practical experiences include teacher residencies, apprenticeships, and student-teaching programs.
• Hire: The stage within the educator pathway that refers to the selection and recruitment process conducted by educational institutions to appoint qualified candidates for teaching positions, ensuring alignment with organizational goals and student needs. This may include using a standards-based hiring process or selecting candidates using a rigorous, equitable, and transparent hiring process.
• Induct: The stage within the educator pathway that refers to providing onboarding support, training, mentorship, and other resources to newly hired educators, facilitating their growth, effectiveness, and adaptation to the demands of the profession. Examples of strategies at this stage include formal induction processes, peer mentoring systems, and targeted professional learning experiences.
• Retain: The stage within the educator pathway that involves establishing mechanisms and structures to assist and support educators throughout their careers, addressing challenges, fostering collaboration, and promoting well-being to enhance job satisfaction and effectiveness. Initiatives and policies around retention can also aim for educators to remain in the profession by recognizing their contributions, providing opportunities for growth, addressing turnover factors, and promoting long-term career satisfaction and commitment.

Stage of an Initiative or Strategy

When considering their educator workforce initiatives, education leaders may want to develop a new initiative from scratch, or they may want to strengthen an existing one. Using a continuous improvement framework helps identify resources that can specifically support different stages of an initiative or strategy. In a continuous improvement framework, the lifecycle begins with conceptualizing initiatives that then iterate through multiple steps, and undergo a cycle of implementing, evaluating, and revising, aiming to guarantee the initiative’s sustainability. Given that many initiatives use a continuous improvement process for implementation, we have classified the resources into the following 5 stages of initiative or strategiesⁱⁱ:

• Conceptualize: The initial stage of an initiative involves generating and refining ideas, goals, and objectives based on identified needs, strengths, opportunities, or diagnostics, setting the foundation for future planning and development. It may also imply assessing available resources to determine feasibility.
• Design: A stage that entails creating detailed plans, frameworks, and strategies aligned to standards and research-informed practices that outline specific actions, resources, and timelines necessary to achieve the established goals and objectives effectively. This might also involve engaging interest holders and other actors in the design process.
• Implement: This stage involves executing the planned activities and deploying resources according to the established design, actively putting the initiative into action to realize desired outcomes and impacts. This might also include collecting initial implementation data to assess roll-out of an initiative or strategy.
• Support: This stage involves providing necessary resources (existing or new), guidance, and assistance to interest holders involved in the implementation process, addressing challenges, and ensuring the initiative’s progress. Supporting an initiative might also involve monitoring and tracking implementation and progress metrics or indicators.
• Evaluate & Sustain: The final stage in developing an initiative involves assessing its effectiveness and impact through systematic evaluation processes, while also developing strategies and mechanisms to ensure its continued success and sustainability over time, especially around human and financial resources. Sustainability also involves putting in place a cycle for continuous improvement that includes revisiting earlier stages. Changes to program design, stated goals, and interest holder involvement are examples of adaptations based on an initiative’s evaluation.

Areas of special interest

Filtering for specific areas of interest or population segments is important for education leaders. Initiatives or strategies can respond to identified priorities or needs, or to funding considerations and restrictions. The following areas of special interest were identified throughout the selection process:

• Grow Your Own (GYO): GYO programs are a “localized approach to developing a pipeline of local educator candidates to meet local workforce needs.” GYO programs tend to focus on specific workforce needs and often reduce obstacles for candidates by taking advantage of partnerships between organizations.
• Registered Teacher Apprenticeship Programs (RTAP): In education, teacher apprenticeship programs are structured programs that combine on-the-job learning with a mentor teacher and formal academic instruction. Teacher apprenticeship programs can be registered with the Department of Labor or a state apprenticeship agency, which means they meet federal criteria for program rigor and quality. Teacher apprenticeship programs have similar core features, namely on-the-job learning, mentorship, supplemental education, credentialing, and progressive wages.
• K-12 work-based learning: K-12 work-based learning is an educational approach designed to diversify the teaching workforce by engaging students, often in high school, in career readiness opportunities that introduce them to the teaching profession, with strategies focusing on career awareness, dual enrollment courses, strategic counseling, and field experiences.
• STEM: References initiatives or practices that specifically support educators in the areas of Science, Technology, Engineering or Mathematics (STEM).
• Multilingual Learners: References initiatives or practices centered on supporting multilingual learners, sometimes building expertise among classroom teachers, sometimes among English language development or bilingual educators.
• Special Education: References initiatives or practices centered on supporting students identified with disabilities, or educators in the special education field that serve this specific student population.
• Rural Education: References initiatives or practices centered on supporting students or educators in rural areas, and that considers the specific challenges and opportunities in these contexts.
• Diversifying workforce: Resources that explicitly include strategies or frames for attracting, hiring, inducting and/or retaining educators of diverse backgrounds, particularly race/ethnicity and language backgrounds.

Other key terms

Different types of resources serve different purposes: while tools and toolkits provide actionable steps for implementation, briefs and reports offer framing and guidance on relevant topics. The following are the categories of product types and formats:

Product type

• Journal Article: A scholarly publication presenting original research, analysis, or theoretical insights related to education, intended for dissemination within academic or professional communities.
• Report: A comprehensive document by a competent author/organization presenting findings, analysis, and recommendations based on research or investigation into specific educational topics, issues, or initiatives.
• Brief: A concise document summarizing important information, findings, or recommendations on a particular educational topic or issue, intended for quick reference or dissemination.
• Guide: A resource that offers detailed instructions and methodologies for conducting research or implementing an initiative, including the identification and description of trends, the consideration of specific approaches, or the adoption of research-based practices.
• Infographic: A visual representation of data, information, or concepts, designed to convey key messages or insights in a clear and engaging manner.
• Framework: A structured outline or model that provides guidance and structure for understanding and addressing complex concepts, processes, or systems.
• Protocols: Established procedures, guidelines, or standards that outline systematic approaches for conducting specific educational activities or interventions (i.e. interviews, interest holder engagement protocols, focus groups).
• Tool/Toolkit: A resource, or collection of resources and materials, designed to support educators, practitioners, or leaders in implementing specific educational strategies, interventions, or practices.
• Sample Strategy: Example of a strategy put to practice by an institution or organization that can be replicated or inform efforts by other education agencies or organizations.
• Multimedia Tools: Interactive or digital resources incorporating various forms of media (e.g., audio, video, animations, websites) to enhance communication.
• Other: A resource that does not fit the categorization above.