Among all in-school factors that impact student learning, teachers carry the most weight -- but school leaders are not far behind. Decades of research have proven the positive influence principals can have on student achievement, school climate and teaching quality. New evidence suggests that their impact may be even greater than previously…

Community college sports teams don't play in nationally televised bowl games or championship tournaments that inspire betting pools in offices across America, but athletic teams at community colleges, especially those in rural areas, play a vital role in attracting a cohort of students who are culturally diverse. This article discusses the…

The purpose of this reflective essay is to encourage the discussion of community-engaged scholarship (CES) that does not progress as planned. Insufficient attention is given to lessons gleaned from missteps and outright failures experienced by scholars in the field, which results in a paucity of documented cases and recommendations for…

For a school improvement initiative to succeed, education leaders must do more than adopt a new program and train staff. This issue of "SEDL Insights" explores steps that leaders can take to ensure the successful implementation of a new program or practice.

This report describes how five states -- Alabama, Kentucky, Maryland, Tennessee and Texas -- made exceptional progress in student achievement during the first decade of the 21st century. State leaders in these states all realized early in the decade that they had a problem they wanted to address. They established a "plan" at the state…

To stem the tide of students dropping out, many schools and districts are turning to early warning systems (EWS) that signal whether a student is at risk of not graduating from high school. While some research exists about establishing these systems, there is little information about the actual implementation strategies that are being used across…

Governor George C. Wallace's role in creating two-year colleges in Alabama in 1963 is detailed. It is argued that the legislation resulted from political activity, not concerns of professional educators. Wallace broke a 107-hour filibuster in the Alabama Senate primarily because of his desire for popularity. (Author/MSE)

Because of the individual authority of each State for its own educational program, practices and policies differ widely among them in many respects. Yet in the midst of differences there are also common elements of development. The U. S. Office of Education, in presenting this series of monographs, has attempted to point out those common elements,…

An assistant principal from Alabama describes her application of one of the skill dimensions derived from the Springfield Simulation--problem analysis--to a low-achievement problem among her fifth graders. Before she was through, she had exercised all the other skill dimensions as well: judgment, sensitivity, leadership, decisiveness, and…

This publication was developed by Alabama school library media professionals to help principals understand good school library media practices. The principal can publicize the school library as a center for student and family learning. He or she can actively promote the importance of information literacy as a basis for authentic, life-long…