In this portrait, Simone A. Fried investigates the first six months of a state education department's takeover of a public school district. Using interviews, observations, and artifact analysis, the article explores how school district employees experience the significant reorganization of governance structures and policies that accompanies…

Historically, U.S. school districts have led schooling, while state education agencies (SEAs) have held a largely regulatory role in school improvement. Yet, a recent reform strategy, the "state takeover," allows an SEA to assume direct governance of a low-performing district -- potentially creating a much more active role for state…

This study sought to understand the opportunities and challenges associated with the implementation of state designed Race to the Top (RttT) funded reform networks. Drawing on a conceptual framework developed from the networked governance literature, we analyzed the 12 state RttT grantees' applications. Our analysis revealed that states designed…

Reforms of the scope and scale of those being undertaken by States today require the development of strong leaders at all levels of organizations to manage the change required by these and other initiatives. State education agencies (SEAs) can use this competency framework and accompanying exercise guide to build the skills, knowledge and…

How can States address the continual and extraordinary challenge of sustaining and adapting the reforms they have implemented to improve student outcomes? What steps can States take to do so in the face of inevitably evolving conditions--such as a change in resources (for example, the end of a grant), leadership (a transition in personnel or…

In the late 1990s, the physics department at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) had a problem. The department was responsible for teaching the two required physics courses that are part of the General Institute Requirements (GIRs), MIT's core curriculum--Physics I (mechanics, or in MIT parlance, 8.01) and Physics II (electricity and…

This bimonthly newsletter provides information about the progress of the Honor States Grant Program, a governor-led effort to improve college--and work-ready graduation rates. This issue explores how effective education governance can support innovative state policy development, successful policy implementation, and a redesigned high school…

To facilitate the dissemination of information about new practices in education to the school systems of Massachusetts, a proposal is outlined for the establishment of a communications network to be operated by the State Department of Education. Five stages of development are incorporated in the dissemination plan: (1) Search for information on…

In the belief that the lack of dissemination of ideas is the cause of the static quality of education today, this paper proposes an interrelationship between local school systems, state department of education, regional U.S. Office of Education, educational cooperatives, teacher education institutions, and other ancillary social agencies. To bring…

The Northeast Regional Resource Center (NERRC) convened national and regional technical assistance (TA) providers and State Education Agency (SEA) teams for two days of focused work on teacher quality. The meeting was held at the Learning Center, Marlborough, Massachusetts, May 4-5, 2006. The purpose of the National Center for Improving Teacher…

This publication represents a major attempt by the Massachusetts Department of Education to involve itself in what educators call the "change process" -- using research to help develop solutions to educational problems, and disseminating results to facilitate adoption of those solutions by many schools. Title III provides federal funds…

This paper reports a case study of the implementation within the special education division of the Massachusetts state department of education of fiscal reforms required by the Massachusetts Comprehensive Special Education Statute, Chapter 766. Three theoretical perspectives were used to organize the study--a rational, organizational, and…

Following passage of the Massachusetts Education Reform Act in 1993, comprehensive statewide assessments to evaluate students' mastery of required content and skills were developed in the core academic areas of mathematics, language arts, science, and history and social science. By 1998, the state had established assessments at the fourth, eighth,…

This report deals with school district collaboration and organization that can take place now and which could influence in a positive and constructive way school district change in Massachusetts. The Governor's Commission established associations with selected study sites across the State in 1973-74, and these study sites assisted them in…

Teacher quality, however defined, is usually seen as the responsibility of schools of education. Rarely is it viewed as the responsibility of academic departments in the arts and sciences--that part of college or university where prospective teachers study the academic content they will draw on as teachers. Only recently has teacher quality come…