The purpose of this guide is to provide information on how to use early warning data, including the Massachusetts Early Warning Indicator System (EWIS), to identify, diagnose, support and monitor students in grades 1-12. It offers educators an overview of EWIS and how to effectively use these data in conjunction with local data by following a…

In early November 2013, the authors started talking about visiting the Hurley School, a dual-language school in Boston, Massachusetts. The Hurley School had spent considerable time transitioning to the Common Core State Standards on literacy, but little time addressing the shifts in math. They worried that math classes were no longer rigorous…

With the number of students who are English language learners (ELLs) likely to double in coming years, it is more important than ever for schools across the U.S. to design and implement educational practices and strategies that best meet ELLs' learning needs, says the report, "Giving English Language Learners the Time They Need to…

To stem the tide of students dropping out, many schools and districts are turning to early warning systems (EWS) that signal whether a student is at risk of not graduating from high school. While some research exists about establishing these systems, there is little information about the actual implementation strategies that are being used across…

In this study, the authors examined the academic performance of 18 urban districts that participated in the 2009 Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) of the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP). The districts participated in grade 4 and grade 8 reading and mathematics assessments. Eleven of these districts also participated in the…

Summarizes changes in student achievement and behavior (cross-racial selections) due to the adoption of an activity-based elementary education program (Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Classroom Laboratories and Elementary Science Study units) in Springfield, Massachusetts. Emphasis of hands-on experience in mixed-race groups was effective in student…

A program in Quincy, Massachusetts, is designed to teach nonhandicapped fourth grade students to understand what it is like to have a handicap. The six 45-minute units include an introductory puppet presentation as well as units on physical disabilities, mental retardation, learning disabilities, visual handicaps, and deafness. Puppets provide…

Children benefit when their parents or caregivers are actively involved in their out-of-school learning. Yet a new report by the Harvard Family Research Project and United Way of Massachusetts Bay finds that only a quarter of programs surveyed had effectively incorporated families. This guide, funded by the Wallace Foundation under its Parents and…

This comprehensive guide discusses how to design staff development in science and math. It is tailored specifically to the needs of individual schools or departments. Vignettes from real schools illustrate concepts within the book. The book provides 15 strategies for professional development and describes each one with its underlying assumptions…

Social studies programs have not received the attention they deserve in the last decade. This document is meant to help Massachusetts school districts strengthen the teaching of social studies at all grade levels. The rationale section offers direction about the need for and the primary purpose of social studies education, namely citizen…

This teacher's guide supplies information and hands-on activities to teach about trees from several disciplines. Activities are grouped into six areas that cover botany, social studies, arts and literature (aesthetics), and trees as a resource. Sections include: (1) Tree Identification, which defines trees and leaves and presents activities that…

A collaborative effort among teachers, mathematics specialists, administrators, representatives from local industry, and college and university faculty produced the complete revision of the Leominster Public School System (Massachusetts) mathematics curriculum. This document provides an outline of the complete K-12 mathematics curriculum,…