The portfolio management models (PMM) has emerged as an important idea in educational governance over the last decade. In PMM systems, a district or other form of authorizer oversees a collection of independent organizations that operate schools according to their particular philosophy and strategic orientation. Yet underlying the design of PMMs…

In 2009, a seldom-used policy lever emerged in the form of a competitive grant program, Race to the Top (RTTT), and sparked a flurry of state-led initiatives as states vied for federal dollars. The current study examines the policymaking context that surrounded these events and propelled Tennessee to the top of the race among the states. Through…

Florida's Race to the Top (RTTT) competition invited university-district partnerships to compete for funds aimed at improving principal preparation programs. In this article, we report findings from a qualitative case study focused on one program partnership funded by RTTT. Drawing upon interviews with faculty and relevant documents, we conducted…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a three-tiered model of instruction that increases learning for all students. RtI meets the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act to provide research-based instruction and interventions for students as needed. RtI is supported with federal funds from the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and…

Performance-based compensation systems have been under discussion for years and are now a required component of any state plan for Race to the Top funds. This article describes a system of performance-based compensation that has been in place at a K-12 school for the past four years. The system was developed by a team of teachers, union members,…

School districts within the USA face ever-decreasing autonomy in rendering decisions regarding instruction, curriculum and the leading and managing of schools at the local level due to the ever-increasing accountability measures implemented by district, state and federal governments. This study investigates a joint university-school district…

The main goals of this implementation study were to: (1) examine how the grant recipients were implementing the changes set forth in their grant proposals; (2) identify initial barriers to implementation of grant activities; (3) identify catalysts that aided in goal attainment and/or partnership development; and (4) consider the sustainability of…