Educators and students in schools across the United States have faced sweeping, unprecedented changes to teaching and learning as a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, which shuttered school buildings in spring 2020. This Data Note offers teachers' and principals' perspectives on some of those changes and presents their…

Over the last decade, policy and business leaders have come to know what parents have always known: teachers are the largest school-based factor in student achievement. Yet not all schools have equal access to the most effective teachers. High-needs schools that serve large proportions of economically disadvantaged and minority students are more…

Teacher shortages are essentially a problem of distribution (Darling-Hammond, 2001; Ingersoll, 2001; National Association of State Boards of Education, 1998; Olson, 2000; Reeves, 2003; Voke, 2002). According to recent studies, hardest to find are teachers who are both qualified and willing to teach in hard-to-staff schools, which included those in…

This document describes 18 drug use prevention progams in metropolitan urban school districts in the following seven western states: (1) California; (2) Hawaii; (3) Idaho; (4) Montana; (5) Nevada; (6) Oregon; and (7) Washington. Each description outlines the level of commitment of each urban district, abilities within each program to collaborate…

States that central to any efforts to improve urban schools is the relationship between the school managers and the teachers' union. Recommendations include creating learner-centered schools; focusing on improving the knowledge and skills of teachers; negotiating "Living Contracts"; and expanding school choice by making public schools…

This sourcebook is designed to give urban educators new information and strategies for working with parents of elementary school students through grade 6. Its five workshops explore how family life, school programs, teacher practices, and district policies can help build school-family partnerships for learning. Threaded through these workshops are…

A number of collaborative efforts are taking place between the Rochester, New York, public schools and the Eastman School of Music. The partnership's chief goal is to enrich the lives of the city's children, a vision that is broadly shared by the district's leaders. (MLF)

Broward County's Teacher Education Alliance provides a seamless approach to teacher education, beginning with the recruitment of high school students and continuing through the preparation of college students. At all levels of their education, students spend time gaining immediate classroom experience in the district's schools. (MLF)

This report summarizes the New York State Community Schools Pilot Project. All 14 elementary Pilot Schools have advisory and/or steering committees, a full-time coordinator, and strategies for ongoing needs assessment in place. All schools also have successful extended-day programs, but response to weekend programs has been mixed, and only seven…

After two semesters of implementation, Project SCOPE (School and College Organized to Promote Excellence) has created a viable structure of collaboration between Public School 152 and Brooklyn College (New York) and has undertaken a range of activities which have already had positive influence on the morale and performance of parents, students,…

Uses the example of the takeover of the Chelsea (Massachusetts) public schools by Boston University to illustrate the problems of educational reform without the involvement of classroom teachers. Argues that no collaboration can be successful without the involvement of parents and teachers. (FMW)

This article reports the findings of a descriptive study of collaborative activities undertaken by postsecondary institutions in Cleveland (Ohio) with Cleveland Public Schools. The nature of collaborative activities is described and recommendations for multi-interinstitutional cooperation leading to a common educational agenda are discussed. An…

Industrial change and the restructuring of employment opportunity in the nation's largest cities have created a mismatch between available jobs and the skills of resident workers. The "upskilling" of jobs must be met by the "upschooling" of the labor force through new partnerships among public schools and higher education…

The Cleveland Collaborative for Mathematics Education (C2ME) intends to change the role and status of teachers of mathematics in Cleveland's public secondary schools. This report presents the perceptions, beliefs, and practices of the teacher members of the collaborative project. This research is based upon descriptive and historical data gathered…

A case study was done of the Boston University management and operation of the Chelsea (Massachusetts) school system including perceptions of key participants and outcomes of the first year of the partnership. Despite unanticipated levels of hostility between various groups and slow funding, which slowed some first year objectives, the project…