State Quality Rating Improvement Systems (QRIS) can effectively support the improvement of school-age childcare programs by leveraging Program Quality Assessments (PQAs) alongside structured improvement planning and professional development. Real-world implementations in Arkansas, Michigan, and Pennsylvania underscore the impact and adaptability…

This dissertation investigated regular and special education co-teachers' perceptions of professional development programs and their readiness to co-teach in the elementary mathematics classroom. A gap in co-teaching literature exists regarding how teachers perceived co-teaching professional development and how it impacts their readiness to…

Detailing the integration of Spanish language teaching in an authentic setting, this article contributes to empirical research on the positive value of community-engaged learning in foreign language pedagogy. "Reading to Play, Playing to Read" is an innovative model for community-engaged teaching that combines learning goals from…

This qualitative study explored the reasons why suburban district leaders opted for full-day or half-day kindergarten programming in a sample of four local suburban districts operating such programs in Southeastern, Pennsylvania. The primary data source was interviews with key district leaders including school board members, superintendents,…

The Wallace Foundation is funding a multiyear demonstration project to determine whether voluntary, district summer learning programs can stem summer learning loss for low-income students. Six districts--Boston, Cincinnati, Dallas, Duval County (Florida), Pittsburgh, and Rochester, New York--were selected for the demonstration project and…

This study examines if practices that advocate for 21st century skills are in conflict with the mandates of NCLB. Interviews with influential school leaders of high achieving elementary schools focused on collecting data about 21st century skills. This study was designed to (a) Determine if 21st century skills are addressed in high achieving…

Schools have gone through educational reforms having various focuses on curriculum changes, consolidation, open classrooms, mastery learning, decentralization, shared decisionmaking, legislative mandates and controls, high expectations, integrated thematic instruction, professional development, technology integration, and standards with…

The Instructional Leadership Study provides suggestive evidence that providing instruction-related professional development to school principals can improve teaching and learning in their schools. The study examines a theory of school change articulated by the Institute for Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. The IFL provides technical…

This report summarizes the activities and findings of the external evaluation of the "Science: It's Elementary" (SIE) program during the period from July 2009 through June 2010. The SIE program is managed by ASSET Inc. and overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education (PDE). SIE is an initiative aimed at improving elementary…

This newsletter of best practices describes steps that schools have taken to establish a guidance and advisement system that helps students plan for and succeed in students high school, further study and careers. Articles in this issue include: (1) Advisory Program Boosts Achievement and Career Planning; (2) District-Wide Guidance Program Assists…

This report summarizes the activities and findings of the external evaluation of the "Science: It's Elementary" (SIE) program during the period from July 2008 through June 2009. The SIE program is managed by ASSET Inc. and overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. SIE is an initiative aimed at improving elementary science…

State agencies have been exploring a variety of options for addressing the Office of Special Education Program's (OSEP) requirements for measuring outcomes for children in early intervention (Part C) or preschool (Section 619) programs. OSEP requires the measurement of children's performance in three outcome areas: (a) acquisition and use of…

The statewide implementation of instructional support teams (ISTs) in Pennsylvania is analyzed in terms of the challenge of bringing team-based problem-solving models to scale. The history of the phase-in of ISTs in more than 1,700 elementary schools is presented, and the salient research conducted on ISTs is reviewed. The results indicate that…

This article deals with school districts' K-8 configurations. Cincinnati, Cleveland, Milwaukee, New York, and Philadelphia are among the districts making the change, driven by a small body of research and a rising pile of anecdotes suggesting that K-8 configurations help academic performance, decrease discipline problems, enhance parent…

This report summarizes the activities and findings of the external evaluation of the "Science: It's Elementary" (SIE) program in the period June 2007 through May 2008. The SIE program is managed by ASSET Inc. and overseen by the Pennsylvania Department of Education. SIE is an initiative aimed at improving elementary science instruction…