(photo: Ed Reed/Mayoral Photography Office)

For decades, decisions about education policy in New York have been filtered through state and local conflicts. Indeed, politics often dominates, divides, and obscures the conversation, causing many to lose sight of the most fundamental question for anyone who cares about education reform: how do students learn?

In looking for an answer, we found a school improvement framework that has the potential to unite all sides of the debate.

Our research team from Teachers College at Columbia University