Check out all the great presentations by SPARC Center folks at TED next week!

Headed to #TED2025 in KC next week? Come see us!

Coming to TED? Come see the TED Policy Committee at our events! Thinking about joining the Policy Committee? Come to our meeting on Wednesday, 11/12 at 3pm in the Penn Valley room to see what we're up to! See you in KC 💚 #TED2025

ICYMI! This data explorer is AMAZING!!!

🚨There is a lot of policy movement to expand career & technical Ed but little evidence of what to expect from such expansion. Our WP provides evidence from MA on take up & ➕impacts in the first 5 yrs after HS. #cte

On it's 50th birthday, special ed law is fighting for its life. On Oct 10, the Department of Ed cut hundreds of positions from OSEP, which oversees implementation of the law & investigates complaints from students who’ve been denied needed services. www.bu.edu/articles/202...

Come join us in celebrating the TESE Reviewers of the Year, next week at TED, on 11/12 from 1:00–1:50 PM in Century B!

Really excited to celebrate TESE Reviewers of the Year, next week at TED!

ICYMI! This data explorer is AMAZING!!!

ICYMI! Check out the first cross-state analysis of the characteristics of the special education teacher workforce, including ethnoracial diversity, distribution across schools, and attrition rates.

AEFP invites applications for the editorship of EFP, the association’s flagship journal. Applications are due TODAY. Read more about it here: aefpweb.org/callfore...

📣New Work Wednesday!📣 Is teaching a calling, a profession, or labor? This study maps how 3 institutional logics—an accountability logic, a democratic logic, and a moral calling logic—shape teachers’ identities. journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/... #NWW

Some nuances to check out in SPARC's data explorer: In most states, attrition is higher in high pov schools, w/the exception of Hawai'i & TX. Disparities are most pronounced in VA & PA - for example, PA has low overall turnover rates, but disparities between high & low pov schools are stark.

Why do special educators switch into general ed at much higher rates in some states than others? What are implications of high rates of switching for students? Do potential benefits of having dual licensed general educators outweigh the pitfalls of higher instability in the special ed workforce?

This data explorer is soooo coool.

⭐Resource #1: A Working Paper with details of our cross-state analysis of the special education teacher workforce: sparccenter.org/research-fin...

⭐Resource #2: Eight SPARC Fact Sheets with state-specific summaries: sparccenter.org/resources/sp...

It has been such a privilege to conduct this research with such a great team. Check out our first year’s work!

We are so excited to share the FIRST cross-state analysis of the characteristics of the special ed workforce! Have you see our data explorer? You can search how the characteristics & turnover of the special ed workforce vary across states, districts, & schools w/in the 7 SPARC partner states.

icymi!!

icymi!! Applications are due soon. Would love to hear from folks who are interested!

Check out the TED Publication of the Year for 2025!

icymi!! Applications are due soon. Would love to hear from folks who are interested!

Excited to check out @drchriscip.bsky.social's new book!

🚨New publication alert🚨 I'm thrilled Economics of Education Review has just published my work w/ @abbyfrancis.bsky.social: "School enrollment shifts five years after the pandemic" Abstract below, but read the next few posts for the story told via a handful of graphs. doi.org/10.1016/j.ec...

ICYMI!

ICYMI!

🚨Check out our NEW Report “Leading through Change”🚨 We explore how school administrators are navigating recent policy changes in Arkansas and their thoughts on what is working and what have been challenging 👇 edre.uark.edu/_resources/p...

I am recruiting a doc student! I am so excited :-D The student would have opportunities to work on IES & Spencer funded projects focused on strengthening the special ed workforce, including Project RESPECT, Project SUSTAIN, Project ONBOARD, & the SPARC Center. Please share widely! Thanks all!

New in TESE! Balikci et al. (2025) complete a meta-analysis with risk of bias assessment (Reichow et al., 2018) on single case educational research (SCER). Performance Feedback (PF) for preservice teachers is confirmed as an EBP. Read full article: doi.org/10.1177/0888... @ted-cec.bsky.social

Such a cool study!!

Gomez-Najarro et al. (2025) analyzed 272 U.S. dual cert program websites using a multidimensional framework. Reported limited inclusive discourse, especially around equity, emphasizing the need for deeper reform to achieve true inclusion. Full article: doi.org/10.1177/08884064251349849

New! Simonsen et al. (2025) analyzed the effects of Targeted Professional Development led by coaches on classroom PBIS practices. Educators increased use of prompts, OTRs, and specific praise which improved student engagement & reduced disruptions. Read more: doi.org/10.1177/08884064251341849

NEW — I dug into the story of ICE abducting a 13-year-old boy in Massachusetts and moving him 500 miles across state lines without notifying his mother, local cop's complicity, and how the federal government's justification for such cruelty is already falling apart:

Our @caldercenter.bsky.social research brief with @cedr.bsky.social and @ahkatz5.bsky.social on special education identification during the pandemic is now published in EEPA! We show that, after an initial dip, identification rates have now "caught up" with pre-pandemic norms: tinyurl.com/y4bea5y5

Curious about what the reduction-in-force means for #specialeducation and what to do now? Swipe through for info! #RIF #sped #ed #education #disability #teach #teacher #osep #osers #departmentofeducation

Special education isn't a "nice thing to have." It isn't "charity" or doing something to make us feel better. It is a right. The right to a Free Appropriate Public Education is codified in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, signed by a Republican president.

Current and former Department of Education employees: We want to hear from you. Use Signal to contact our reporters @jsmithrichards.bsky.social at jsmithrichards.93, @jodiscohen.bsky.social at jodireporter.88 or @megomatz.bsky.social at 414-207-6225.

Impact of long working hours on teachers’ well-being www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10....

@afgilmour.bsky.social addresses a major barrier in this line of research: figuring out who special education teachers are from the data.

Reporting from @zachschermele.bsky.social at USA Today with more details ⬇️ www.usatoday.com/story/news/e...

@tashnuvashaheen.bsky.social - emergency licensed special ed teachers more likely to work in self contained settings, less likely to work in inclusive settings; more likely to work with students with IDD and ASD. Such important findings regarding inequitable sorting of special ed teachers!

New @gallup.com poll: 1 in 4 teachers don't have necessary resources, support staff. @amandageduld.bsky.social reports

New working paper on contemporary child labor in the U.S. and its impacts on school attendance ⬇️ edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1302 With absolute dream team @mimiarnoldlyon.bsky.social @stevebholt.bsky.social & PhD student Ji Hyun Byeon

So well deserved!!

Hoping I survive walking at night in #warzonechicago . 🙄

Come hang out with us on Saturday! We're super excited to share findings from SPARC Center, Project RESPECT, & Project SUSTAIN!

🚨Important paper alert🚨 "Who Wants to Be a Teacher in America?" "Lower interest among men, students of color, and high-achieving students... Recommenders rate students interested in teaching as having lower intellectual promise... but greater concern for others." edworkingpapers.com/ai25-1285