Designed to help instructional leaders deliver effective training to teachers, this guide provides one of four evidence-based recommendations for supporting literacy among English learner students in grades 4-8. It includes practical application ideas and examples, as well as resources for immediate implementation. This guide is based on…

The goal of this practice guide is to offer educators specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenges of preventing dropout in secondary schools. This guide synthesizes the best publicly available research and shares practices that are supported by evidence. It is intended to be practical and easy for teachers and school…

It is essential for middle school leaders to develop and promote school-wide literacy models, organizational structures that have a significant impact on the learning environment for all students in their building. However, school-wide literacy models can be difficult to implement and sustain over time. Drawing from an Office of Special Education…

At the heart of the effort to enact and scale up successful school reforms is the need for more robust links between research and practice. One promising approach is design development, a methodology widely used in other fields and only recently adapted to education, which offers a disciplined process for identifying practical problems, assessing…

"RTI in Middle School Classrooms" provides practical, research-based instructional techniques and interventions--geared especially to middle school teachers and administrators--that target and address specific needs of individual students. Response to intervention allows educators to assess and meet the needs of struggling students…

School attendance is an ongoing concern for administrators, particularly in middle-level and high school. Frequent absences affect student learning, test scores, and social development. Administrators who understand the causes of school refusal behavior and are aware of effective intervention strategies can help provide supportive school…

This guide is intended to be useful to educators in high schools and middle schools, to superintendents and school boards, and to state policymakers in planning and executing dropout prevention strategies. The target audience includes school administrators as well as district-level administrators, seeking to help develop practice and policy…

Unique in its coverage of both prevention and intervention, this book provides evidence-based strategies and ready-to-use tools for addressing substance abuse in middle and high school settings. Readers learn ways to identify students at risk and implement programs that meet a broad continuum of needs--from psychoeducational and support groups to…

Recently, Argyle Middle School in Montgomery County, Maryland faced the prospect of corrective action for failure to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) under the No Child Left Behind Act. The county's Office of School Performance designed the Strategic Monitoring/Intervention Process to help schools identify students' academic progress both…

Adolescent children of alcoholics (AdCOAs) take with them the habits and customs learned at home. Describes the distinguishing characteristics of AdCOAs, how they can be helped, and school-based intervention programs. Lists key points for alcohol awareness for all educators, and provides addresses for four resources. (15 references) (MLF)

Disabilities and illnesses are becoming an increasing problem for all employers. To understand the problems unique to schools, 76 elementary and middle school principals were surveyed and indepth interviews were conducted with over a dozen of them. Nearly 70 percent reported that, over the past 2 years, they had between 1 and 5 teachers absent for…

This handbook is designed to help school leaders use research on best literacy practices to create a well-defined intervention plan that not only will improve the literacy of all students but also the long-range academic success of students by enhancing their chances for postsecondary education and future employability. The handbook presents…

This report summarizes the findings of three 5-year federally financed dropout prevention programs for high risk students and their families known as the ABC programs: ALAS (Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success), the Belief Academy, and Check & Connect. The information is based on a comprehensive report called "Staying in…

This guidebook presents a variety of dropout prevention strategies and is intended to help readers determine which strategies are best suited for a particular classroom, school, or district. The primary audience is school personnel who work with young adolescents. It begins by addressing major dropout issues, primary research findings, and…