The implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has had many positive effects on students in schools today. The results have been less positive, however, for high-achieving students. Teachers often focus their instruction on students who need the most help, leaving little time to meet the academic or emotional needs of gifted students.…

STEM--science, technology, engineering, and mathematics--has become a fixture of the education debate, and much effort already has been put toward improving student performance. Yet troubling statistics persist: On the latest round of testing for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), only 40 percent of fourth graders nationwide…

Principal shortages have become a nationwide issue, with education publications frequently discussing the devastating problem of not having enough high-quality candidates apply for administrative positions. The conundrum begs the question: Where have all the instructional leaders gone? To meet the challenge of keeping high-quality principal…

In collaboration with the Neag Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development at the University of Connecticut, and with the guidance of its directors, Joseph Renzulli and Sally Reis, the Southeast Elementary School in Mansfield, Connecticut, has implemented the schoolwide enrichment model (SEM), a program designed to enhance learning and…

Located in Lancaster, South Carolina, Clinton Elementary School enrolls approximately 400 students in pre-kindergarten through grade 5. Ninety-five percent of students are minority and 5 percent are white. Currently, 99 percent of students receive free or reduced-price lunch. In addition to the school having a high poverty rate, one-fourth of the…

The summer before the 2003-2004 year, the author was contacted by a district director of exceptional student education (ESE) about participating in a new program. She described it as a problem-solving method that would help them identify and provide interventions for K-2 students who were not making adequate progress in reading. The district would…

"What Matters Most: Teaching for America's Future" by the National Commission on Teaching and America's Future tells that teacher quality is the single most important factor in determining student achievement, so principals are wise to put their efforts into improving teaching in their schools. However, principals do not need to take on…

Today in the U.S., more than 4 million elementary and secondary students require language assistance, and growth of the English-language learner (ELL) population is expected to continue. Thus, school staffs must be prepared to meet challenges that will arise because of the changing population and an increase of ELLs. School districts that are…

"Give a man a fish and he will eat for a day. Teach a man to fish and he will eat for the rest of his life." This popular Chinese proverb is an apt metaphor for the dilemma faced by principals and curriculum coordinators when deciding whether to purchase a scripted commercial reading program. Although a scripted reading program may solve…

An elementary school principal provides a Professional Development School (PDS) model that can help close the experience gap for new teachers and better prepare them for the "real world" of the classroom.

Many school principals say that the toughest part of the day is recess. That's because recess is when most trouble starts. When the author asked one principal recently about recess, she promptly rattled off a list of headaches, such as "the teasing, the fights, the bullying, the injuries, the referrals." In this article, the author describes…

Academically oriented after-school programs can be an effective way to provide extra help to students who need it. Research points to the importance of well-designed programs established to meet specific goals. The report lists and describes the elements of successful after-school programs. (Contains 4 online resources.)

This Research Report summarizes various strategies that have been found to help struggling students succeed without having to repeat a grade. They include aligning instruction with standards, providing "early warning" assessments, multiage grouping, accelerated learning, increased professional development for teachers working with low-performing…

Science testing, as mandated by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, has refocused attention on the quality of the K-8 science curriculum and instruction in many districts around the country. It has become clear that to improve quality, and meet NCLB requirements, elementary and middle schools must develop different teaching approaches and…

New information on the characteristics of elementary school principals is included in the most recent Schools and Staffing Survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics. The results show that the number of public elementary school principals grew from 54,000 in 1993-1994 to 61,000 in 2003-2004. This roughly corresponds to the…