Develop equity, excellence, "and" well-being across the whole system! The world is troubled! We need to combine a moral imperative and a system transformation to survive for the better. Education is crucial to our future but needs to play a more direct role in shaping our future. "The Devil is in the Details" shows how we can…

The report contains real-world, proven school climate strategies to guide policymakers in building a comprehensive and coherent state-wide approach for improving school climate. It features 12 recommendations linked to existing state policy examples policymakers can use to build a comprehensive, coherent state-wide approach for improving school…

This guide presents a data-driven, research-based process--referred to as the "school-community forum process"--for increasing youth voice, promoting resilience, strengthening adult-youth connections, and ultimately, for improving schools. It uses a "student listening circle"--a special type of focus group involving eight to…

This playbook draws from the findings of "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades," the largest empirical study of this grade level conducted to date. The "Gaining Ground in the Middle Grades" study was designed to find out what higher-performing schools do differently. The result is a compelling set of specific, actionable…

This manual on curriculum adaptation for inclusive classrooms was developed as part of the PEERS (Providing Education for Everyone in Regular Schools) Project, a 5-year collaborative systems change project in California to facilitate the integration of students with severe disabilities previously at special centers into services at regular school…

This guide informs parents about some instructional practices that work well for all elementary school students, in particular English learners. It includes questions parents can ask teachers and principals to help them understand how their children's school approaches teaching and learning. Both English and Spanish versions of the document are…

This three-volume manual, focusing on California's K-12 public schools, presents guidelines for establishing schools that are healthy, comfortable, energy efficient, resource efficient, water efficient, secure, adaptable, and easy to operate and maintain. The first volume describes why high performance schools are important, what components are…

The three major goals for a program review are: (1) the generation of information by and for the school community on the status of the school's program; (2) the implementation of a model for improvement that includes diagnosis followed by external review followed by planning; and (3) the focusing of the school community on improvement,…

The goal of this manual is to create a new generation of high performance school facilities in California. The focus is on public schools and levels K-12, althoughmany of the design principals apply to private schools and higher education facilities as well. High performance schools are healthy, comfortable, energy efficient, resource efficient,…

This publication is intended to help California school officials and planners create school buildings that provide environments needed for the operation of an outstanding program of public education. It encourages them to visit the schools presented and similar ones in order to become informed about new planning concepts and trends in school…

The transition from being a graduate student to a school psychologist is a complex task. Most school districts do not provide much support to new psychologists. The goal of the California Association of School Psychologists' New School Psychologist Support (NSPS) initiative is to direct resources targeted at new psychologists to facilitate a…

The case of one language-minority child identified as mildly learning disabled is used to illustrate the concept of special education placement and instruction of language-minority children outlined in California's Optimal Learning Environment curriculum guide. A synopsis of the curriculum guide is included. (Author/MSE)

This publication offers a checklist for identifying strengths and weaknesses of school health programs. The instrument can be used by school personnel, community members, or by an outside team of experts. Criteria are expressed in terms of desirable practices, with provisions for judging, on a five-point scale, the extent to which program…

Many California school districts, in complying with the Class Size Reduction Program, will obtain relocatable classrooms directly from manufacturers who are under no specific guidelines or codes relative to indoor air quality (IAQ). This document, designed to aid school facility managers in minimizing potential IAQ problems, summarizes the indoor…

The California Department of Education convened a task force to determine how the learning environment can be shaped to support statewide educational reforms designed to make California schools places of community pride that also help students excel. This two-part report outlines design implications common to all grade levels, as well as those…