Rural schools, especially smaller ones, offer enormous opportunities for teachers to get to know their students and to cultivate their academic talents. However, students with potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) face specific obstacles to having their talents fully realized in rural schools. Joni Lakin, Tamra…

A mixed-methods study of a large social-emotional learning (SEL) program revealed notable disparities in the ways that teachers and students perceived the program's impact. Teachers believed the initiative empowered students, while the students themselves described the program as one that emphasized compliance. Madora Soutter summarizes her…

Many schools and out-of-school organizations use social-emotional learning (SEL) programs to boost students' skills. Yet research shows that these programs can be difficult to implement and don't always meet students' needs. In response, Rebecca Bailey, Laura Stickle, Gretchen Brion-Meisels, and Stephanie Jones propose a new approach to SEL…

What can educators do to help students care about their learning and become more invested in their own success? Chase Nordengren describes how a school district created a goal-setting culture in all classrooms at all grade levels. The district began with a complex, research-based, prescriptive program that teachers found did not work well with…

So what if we just turned every course in our Superintendent's Program into a form of practicum? This question was asked by two former superintendents in response to nationwide calls to reform school leadership training and who found themselves leading a university executive leadership program. It triggered a comprehensive redesign of their…

The New Mexico Rural Revitalization Initiative (NMRRI), an innovative program to enhance the growth and development of rural communities, involves schools and students as part of a holistic approach. The program requires community members to take responsibility for revitalizing their economy and fosters an entrepreneurial spirit among students.

A striking convergence of research, documentation, commentary, and policy in the past five years strongly suggests that an almost exclusive focus on academic knowledge and skills is an incomplete solution. Additional behaviors, skills, and mindsets--sometimes called metacognitive skills or 21st-century skills--are just as necessary for academic…

Tunica County, Mississippi, in the heart of the delta, has been home to stagnant academic achievement even as federal and state funds increased. A teacher-focused professional development program through the University of Mississippi helped yield higher scores and national recognition for an elementary school. It also revealed some learnings:…

In 2008, the Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation began the social studies textbook adoption process. Concurrently, the Indiana State Board of Education wrote a memo encouraging schools to look at digital resources; BCSC did not hesitate. This article describes why BCSC chose to move to a digital format at the secondary level, the process…

To circumvent typical public schooling restrictions, an upstate New York middle school established a Lab School that functions outside the regular program. Lab School aims to provide practice in intellectual inquiry, delve into complex, demanding topics, create an interdisciplinary, problem-oriented curriculum, and experiment with assessment…

In this article, the authors tell the story of how the Garden Grove Unified School District in California is taking on the challenge of preparing all students for college and skilled careers. Though every student may not plan to attend college, the district has decided that the opportunities made available to students should not depend solely on…

Students with behavioral or learning disabilities are important resources for their community. Through two service-learning projects (reading to elementary-school students and interviewing senior citizens), special-needs students at one New Jersey middle school gained confidence in their skills and developed a sense of pride and community…

Describes the economics curriculum developed in the Rochester (Minnesota) Public Schools. The curriculum was developed with the aid of the local community and is linked to the community through an advisory committee. Methods of evaluating the curriculum are also discussed. (IRT)

In this second of a two-part series, the author outlines the basic structure of the kind of school that will help the children of poverty gain ground and so reduce the learning gap. In an attempt to establish far more effective high-poverty schools, the author proposes one approach, which is the Hi-Perform School redesign for high-poverty…

Examines the Schooldisc program developed jointly by the American Broadcasting Company and the National Education Association and compares Schooldiscs with "ThinkAbout," an instructional television series produced by the Agency for Instructional Television. (IRT)