This guide from the National Gang Center is designed to provide schools and law enforcement with sound practices and collaborative techniques to identify, assess, and address gang activity in the school setting. [The National Gang Center (NGC) is managed by the Institute for Intergovernmental Research (IIR).]

Career-connected learning is an educational strategy that combines high-quality academic instruction, skill-based learning, and real-world experiences to prepare students with the knowledge and skills that they need to pursue their college and career goals. Career-connected learning can be delivered in a variety of ways, including in core content…

Noting that the first decade of the new millennium is sure to see continuing efforts to reform curriculum and classroom practices by implementing the middle school concept, this booklet answers middle school teachers' most pressing questions about the cornerstone of the middle school concept, integrated curriculum. The 20 questions addressed…

The continuing importance of data analytics is not lost on higher education leaders, who face a multitude of challenges, including increasing operating costs, dwindling state support, limits to tuition increases, and increased competition from the for-profit sector. To navigate these challenges, savvy leaders must leverage data to make sound…

The chair of the board of trustees leads the board and facilitates board processes. He or she plays an important role in ensuring that the board effectively governs the institution and that trustees work together well. The chair is often perceived as the major spokesperson for the board. She or he is usually the primary point of contact with the…

"For students to be successful in school, they first have to be in school." With that simple statement, Jessica Sprick and Randy Sprick launch a compelling case for prioritizing student attendance. This comprehensive guide provides school and district-level administrators and teams with the background information, strategies, and tools…

The George W. Bush Institute's School Leadership Initiative (SLI) District Cohort Research Project is a five-year effort with four school districts to test two frameworks--Principal Talent Management (PTM) and Effective Implementation. This collaboration is designed to improve how districts prepare, recruit, support, and retain principals. This…

In "Navigating the Principalship," James P. Spillane and Rebecca Lowenhaupt look at the major challenges of the principal position, examining how new principals adapt to the role, set an instructional agenda, and build cooperation and collaboration. They focus in particular on the dilemmas that mark the principalship--the inevitable,…

This guide is intended to inform school district leaders about the federally identified risks associated with a new coronavirus that is now present in the U.S., known as "COVID-19," and to provide a checklist of issues school leaders should consider when planning for any such crisis in the community. School systems can be proactive and…

This guide grew out of material used in the Transformation Academy, a professional learning program for principals charged with achieving the rapid improvement of their school. The intent of that program is to help principals get started with transforming instruction -- the change that is at the heart of school improvement. Transforming…

Accessibly written and specifically designed for secondary schools, "Implementing Systematic Interventions" provides you with the tools you need to successfully organize for and smoothly implement schoolwide intervention strategies. Discover how to: (1) organize administrative support and leadership teams; (2) create effective…

This playbook shares the findings of three researchers who set off to discover what K-12 schools can learn from the best-run organizations in America. They looked systematically at the structures and processes that high-performing managers put in place to create their dynamic cultures. They found that the best managers had many things in common…

How can we approach professional development in a thoughtful way, keep teachers motivated, and make the process worthwhile? It's a truth that school leaders can't deny: teachers tend to think of PD as a distraction from the "real work" of the classroom--as something to get through instead of an opportunity to engage, learn, and grow as…

Charter school authorizing is inherently contextual work, and each charter school authorizer is the expert on their own context and portfolio of schools. This toolkit is a self-guided resource for authorizers to "identify" indicators of distress, "audit" their current data collection methods for evaluating indicators of…

Teachers in most American schools work in isolation, separated from other teachers, making it difficult to benefit from their colleagues' expertise or to share their expertise with others about how to help more students learn. However, a growing body of research shows that when teachers work more collaboratively, student outcomes can improve,…