You've gotten that email. Something happened - you can feel it - but by the time you finish reading, you're not sure what was said. This episode explains what's actually happening inside those carefully managed school communications, and why nobody inside the building was ever going to tell you.

This episode draws in part on research in:

• Institutional isomorphism and conformity pressure in organizations — DiMaggio & Powell (1983)
• Street-level bureaucracy and how frontline professionals adapt under institutional constraints — Lipsky (1980)
• Documentation requirements, compliance cultures, and their costs on practice — Darling-Hammond (2010)
• Cross-informant behavioral assessment: parents and teachers observe different behavioral samples — Achenbach, McConaughy & Howell (1987)