Policymakers and education leaders in Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) states have been working since 2002 to meet all 12 "Challenge to Lead" Goals for Education. At the same time, SREB states have had to struggle with the toughest economic challenges in decades. Even so, SREB states have succeeded in achieving many of the goals…

In response to shortages of science and mathematics teachers in the U.S., many states have promoted alternative routes to certification in which individuals with non-education undergraduate degrees can become certificated in shorter timeframes than in traditional programs. One consideration in designing alternative programs is how to arrange…

It is important to be able to describe instructional practices accurately in order to support research on "what works" in education and professional development as a basis for efforts to improve practice. This report describes a project to develop procedures for characterizing classroom practices in mathematics and science on the …

One-hundred-and-twenty secondary science teachers responded to a survey entitled "Teaching Science to Students with Special Needs in Inclusive Settings" to assess their knowledge and preparation in working with students with special needs in the science classroom. The authors focused on the following questions (1) How can a secondary science…

This article discusses literature circles and how to use them effectively with English Language Learners (ELLs) at the middle level. The focus of literature circles is to combine literacy skills and strategies in a supportive social atmosphere of a non-threatening peer group. All students need teacher modeling if literature circles are to work…

Educators at elementary, middle, and high school levels will find that integrating digital tools and resources--many commonly used by students in their "out of school" lives--can be a springboard to creativity and new skills. In this article, the author describes how word processors, presentation software and hardware, mind-mapping applications,…

Background: The school is a primary context for social interaction, cultivation of interpersonal skills, formation of peer groups, self-expression, and development of self. Several studies have demonstrated that the social context of the school has important implications for determining the likelihood that an adolescent will follow a prosocial…

"ALAS," an acronym for "Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success" that means "wings" in Spanish, is a middle school (or junior high school) intervention designed to address student, school, family, and community factors that affect dropping out. Each student is assigned a counselor who monitors attendance,…

This article offers information about a district's school improvement efforts to reculture as a professional learning community, which we believe exemplifies the school and district levels of Fullan's (2004b, 2005) tri-level model. We use Fullan's eight elements of sustainability to organize the data gathered in interviews with school and district…

This article describes Kid-to-Kid, a group discussion program that gives students a strong voice and lets them connect with their peers in an environment where it is safe to be honest, where feelings and thoughts can be expressed without fear of judgment, and where the teacher talks less than the students. Guidelines for starting such a program…

A need for more classrooms and a desire to improve student achievement contributed to the decision by the Capistrano Unified School District to offer a K-8 school option for parents recently. The two-year journey began as a consequence of overcrowding at 10 middle schools. One section of the district, had spent several years unsuccessfully trying…

"MCPS School Safety and Security at a Glance" provides, in a single document, information about the reporting of incidents related to school safety and security, school climate, local school safety program descriptions, and serious incidents in all Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools. The information is presented for each school.…

This paper presents the development of a 3-D virtual environment in Second Life for the delivery of standards-based science content for middle school students in the rural Appalachian region of Southeast Ohio. A mixed method approach in which quantitative results of improved student learning and qualitative observations of implementation within…

This study examined teachers' uses of virtual manipulatives across grades K-8 after participating in a professional development institute in which manipulatives and technology were the major resources used throughout all of the activities. Researchers analyzed 95 lesson summaries in which classroom teachers described their uses of virtual…

This report summarizes results from the 2007 Austin Independent School District summer school program at those Title I schools that provided summer services to students who did not attend other district summer school programs.