Across the country, high schools have found that their ninth-grade students have the highest rates of truancy, discipline referrals, failures, and retentions. A school's worst data points are usually found among freshmen. For this reason, proactive schools seek strategies for transitioning freshmen into high school. An effective freshman…

In 2003, Southmoreland was a seventh- and eighth-grade junior high school in the warning category under NCLB for failing to make adequate yearly progress. Scores on state tests were grim--only 39% of the students were proficient or advanced in math and 55% in reading. Two years later, the combined improvement in reading and math scores resulted in…

Expert-run training does not often result in long-lasting changes in instruction. True professional development results when teachers have ongoing support as they rehearse new skills and incorporate them into classroom practices. Staff members are often the most effective coaches for their peers when building those new skills. This article…

Communication and professional dialogue are essential elements of a high-quality education environment in which all students can succeed. Such an environment is especially important for the success of students with special needs. Unfortunately, collaboration between special educators, general educators, and other professionals is often hindered by…

In the Scaffolded Apprenticeship Model (SAM), a school improvement strategy in place in New York City; Boston, Massachusetts; and Oakland, California, teacher teams improve their schools by studying and closing high-leverage learning gaps for small groups of struggling students as a strategy for systemic change. SAM's goal is for each school to…

Developing interdisciplinary teams that function properly should be the goal of every school leader who is interested in promoting middle level reform. To accomplish that goal, individual team members should not be left on their own to sink or swim with the teaming concept, but must be guided through a transformational process that teaches them to…

The first faculty meeting of the year is an opportunity for administrators to model strategies that engage their teachers and promote a sense of teamwork. This article describes the first faculty meeting of the 2008-09 school year at Matoaca Middle School in Chesterfield County, Virginia, where the administrators tried to model strategies that…

The Menominee Indian School District is a K-12 public school district with 1,000 students that is located almost entirely on tribal lands in Wisconsin. This uniqueness has led the district and, in turn, the schools to recognize the cultural importance of the Menominee Nation and American Indians. To do this, Menominee culture is infused into daily…

In classrooms and schools across the United States, educators struggle to meet the requirements of standards-based reform that was enacted by federal legislation. Secondary schools can use coteaching with mixed-ability groups of students to meet increased curriculum demands and provide mandated strategies and accommodations for students with…

School culture consists of "the beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors which characterize a school" (Phillips, 1996, p. 1). It is the shared experiences both in school and out of school (traditions and celebrations) that create a sense of community, family, and team membership. It affects everything that happens in a school, including student…

Although 80%-85% of high school graduates in Geneseo, Illinois intended to enroll in postsecondary institutions, only 30%-40% completed the ACT-recommended college core curriculum and even fewer (10%-12%) enrolled in credit-based transition programs, such as AP or dual or concurrent enrollment courses. Students were fulfilling the high school…

In recent years, principals have had to act as referees for a new type of match between teachers and technology staff members, affectionately known as the "techies." This time the match is for the control of the technology-integrated classroom. Creating technology-integrated classrooms often puts the interests of teachers in opposition to the…

To refocus its professional development plan, Chaska Middle School East (Minnesota) looked at where student achievement was lagging. Using the Killion back-mapping model, a student-focused, data-driven, multi-step process by which teachers gather and study student data to determine where professional growth, development, or training is most…