This report details how Reynoldsburg City Schools utilized the Inclusive Innovation model to introduce an innovative Open Educational Resource, Socratic Circles, designed to assist teachers in guiding discussions on racial and social justice in the classroom. These OER will be accessible to educators who are inspired by this work and interested in…

Identifying and maintaining talent is important in any organization, but in a low-performing school, it is perhaps "the" most important component to achieving turnaround. Given the importance of teachers and leaders for students and schools, districts and states are wise to hone their efforts related to identifying, attracting,…

Supporting students' mental health needs is critical in high-poverty urban school districts where many students are at risk for mental health problems. Although teacher-student relationships are at the core of student mental health promotion in the classroom, many teacher preparation programmes do not adequately prepare pre-service teachers…

State education agencies are investing more time and effort to communicate effectively and engage with district, school and classroom leaders, parents, students and other key audiences about the important changes happening in their States. They are using myriad tools to do so, including forums, meetings, direct contact, mainstream and social…

School improvement models are expanding to incorporate priorities around positive youth development, safe and supportive school climates, school mental health, and school-family community partnerships. A partnership was formed between researchers and district/school leaders to examine the 3-year adoption and implementation of 1 such exemplary…

The Center on Standards, Alignment, Instruction, and Learning (C-SAIL), examines through four lines of study to determine how college- and career-readiness (CCR) standards are implemented, if they improve student learning, and what instructional tools measure and support their implementation. This brief presents findings from C-SAIL's…

The challenges facing the United States in educating its youth have been widely documented. The dropout rate in the past decades has been staggering, with students of color and in lower socio-economic circumstances posting an even higher rate. However, educators are now beginning to embrace the promise of ubiquitous digital technologies in the…

The State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) published a series of case studies from 28 states to showcase examples of how ARRA EETT ("American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 Enhancing Education Through Technology") grant funds have impacted teaching and learning. SETDA collected data for the case studies through…

This policy primer is designed to provide base-line information about new forms of teacher pay that are emerging around the country, to support the local conversations and negotiations that will lead to the development of innovative compensation systems. It identifies reasons why teacher compensation is high on local, state, and federal policy…

School districts discover that the secret to implement a good laptop program is to find a good partner. This article features educational partnerships that provide tools and support districts need to roll out successful laptop programs. At Cincinnati Country Day School district administrators joined with Toshiba and a solution provider to provide…

The primary purpose of this study was to empirically determine the relationship between staff acceptance of the Baldrige Model as a school improvement innovation and types of staff development. The secondary purpose was to establish from the literature the relationship between staff acceptance and school improvement. Professional development…

To gain some perspective on the current interest in and use of educational technology, the Ohio Department of Education awarded a grant to the Cincinnati Public Schools to conduct a survey on the uses of new technologies in school districts throughout the state. The results of that survey are summarized in this report by the following topics:…