Improving the literacy skills of struggling high school readers remains one of the greatest challenges educators face today. Students who are two or more years behind grade level in their language arts skills have little chance of successfully completing a rigorous program of studies in high school and are the most likely to drop out. Accelerating…

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of Ramp Up to Advanced Literacy, an unbundled Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) model, on the reading achievement of ninth grade students in a large urban school district in Kentucky. Using a pre- and posttest impact evaluation design, data from participating and non-participating…

The landmark Civic Mission of Schools report of 2003 laid out an argument for the role of schools in promoting youth civic engagement and presented a range of promising ideas and practices to accomplish that. In this study we describe the civic engagement outcomes that Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) in Louisville, KY, has chosen to promote…

Teacher characteristics and student achievement growth are currently a significant topic of investigation in the educational accountability arena. Given the environment of high-stakes accountability associated with the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) legislation and state accountability systems, staffing all classrooms with highly qualified teachers…

This teacher recruitment study was conducted in one of the largest school districts in the United States. The participants (N = 152) were newly hired teachers. Findings revealed the participants considered economic (e.g., teacher salary schedule), school (e.g., location), and community (e.g., cultural opportunities) attributes important in their…

Emerging research suggests that providing personal computers to students, in combination with a constructivist teaching approach, holds promise for significant gains in student achievement. As we begin a process of using one-on-one learning with laptop computers in a large urban district, it is important to share information concerning the design,…