To update its teaching and departmental review processes, Phillips Academy Andover, an independent boarding school in Massachusetts, commissioned RAND Corporation researchers to review the school's policies, conduct a literature review, interview other independent high schools, develop potential recommendations for revision of Andover's processes,…

Digital globes are new technologies increasingly used in informal and formal education to display global datasets and show connections among Earth systems. But how effective are digital globes in advancing public literacy in Earth system science? We addressed this question by developing new content for digital globes with the intent to educate and…

Teacher evaluation systems have tremendous potential in helping teachers grow in their profession. A standards-based teacher evaluation system with a rubric and multiple sources of data has the potential to create a collaborative environment that focuses on the continuous improvement of each teacher in the district. This ultimately leads to an…

Adolescents with disabilities require access to general education and life skills instruction. Knowledge of food safety for this audience is important for health and valuable for work placement. The objective was to implement a survey to assess high school and transition special education teachers in RI, CT, and MA for food safety knowledge and…

The evaluation and professional development of teachers and administrators are two sides of the same coin. Both are the essential currency schools have to improve teachers' practice and students' learning, but schools often spend this currency unwisely. Too often, evaluations are a source of tension and conflict, even a necessary evil.…

Scratch the surface of a successful school and you will find a web of interactions that is the root of its success. Who is it that envisions, inspires, cajoles, and rallies all the various players in and around a school toward any improvement goal? Often it's a superintendent, a principal, a professor, a special teacher, or a parent. In a word,…

This document describes the mentoring relationship from the perspectives of several virtual schools that have built mentoring programs to assist their new teachers. Each school's mentoring program is unique and has been designed specifically for the school's staff, size, and instructional approach. These schools have learned that a successful…