This brief draws on interviews with school principals, community school managers (CSMs), and district leaders in two community schools and focused on school improvement efforts based on Oakland Unified School District's (OUSD) full-service community schools model (FSCS). New Highland RISE Community Elementary School (RISE Community) and Elmhurst…

When Principal Natasha Moore saw the application for Community School funding from Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) during her first year as principal at REACH Academy, she jumped on the opportunity to apply. East Oakland's REACH Academy serves a student body of just under 400, and is co-located with Cox Academy, a charter school.…

Today's education technology holds immense promise, but what matters more than the tools themselves are how they are used in schools and in classrooms. In "Breakthrough Leadership in the Digital Age," Frederick M. Hess and Bror Saxberg argue that educators have tended to think of adopting technology as a way to "reform" or…

Romain Bertrand is a middle school math teacher and Opportunity Culture enthusiast. As the 2012-13 school year wound down, he was already thoroughly looking forward to the next--when he will become a multi-classroom leader at Ranson IB Middle School, taking accountability for the learning results of 700 students. At Ranson, a Project L.I.F.T.…

This article presents the story and reflection of Jennifer Ritter who shares two critical elements in the process of induction into the world of teaching English. She reminds teachers that the matching of student teacher and cooperating teacher is seldom the result of the extended scrutiny of the attributes of the prospective teacher and the…

So much hinges on putting the right book in a student's hands. Motivation to read is the foundation from which knowledge, reading competency, and comprehension grow. But how do we do it? Here, Hinton and Dickinson offer practical advice for how to reach kids through a partnership with library media specialists and a commitment to promoting books…

In this article, the author discusses seven characteristics of classrooms that encourage maximum student participation in the education process: (1) democracy; (2) scientific method; (3) creativity; (4) change; (5) individualization; (6) socialization; and (7) problem solving. Using these concepts to make students part of the instructional…

Over a two-year period, the teachers at John Adams Middle School wrote and administered eight common assessments across content areas and met to discuss the results of each. By linking standards, assessments, and instruction, teachers were able to identify areas of need for specific students and address those needs. Educators across the country…

Middle level educators can't always define it succinctly, but they know courageous, collaborative leadership when they see it. Examples of courageous leadership can range from a cancer-stricken teacher who inspires a whole school, to an educator who makes little strides by modeling the art of "hanging out" for students for whom social interaction…