The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) provides professional development to teachers in the instructional strategies of the Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) and the Mathematics Design Collaborative (MDC). This professional development provides time for teachers to receive out-of-class guided instruction in planning assignments that engage…

In 2009, the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Committee to Improve High School Graduation Rates and Achievement, led by then-Governor Sonny Perdue of Georgia, released a report of 10 key recommendations for ensuring more students graduate from high school, and they graduate ready for college and careers. Among these 10 recommendations was…

This summary offers highlights of a conference hosted by the Southern Regional Educational Board-State Vocational Education Consortium, a 6-year effort to develop, apply, evaluate, and promote strategies to strengthen the basic competencies of high school students enrolled in vocational education programs. An introduction provides summaries of…

Principals can profoundly influence student achievement by leading school change, but they cannot turn schools around by themselves. District leaders need to create working conditions that support and encourage change for improved achievement, rather than hindering principals' abilities to lead change. This report includes principals' perceptions…

What would happen if schools offered all students the same challenges and opportunities that some schools now offer only their "best" students? The Southern Regional Education Board addressed that question in 1987, when it developed the High Schools That Work Model. Blending challenging college-preparatory content with modern vocational and…

After 2 years of promoting more integration of academic and vocational curriculums, the Southern Regional Education Board identified 15 educational practices that may raise the basic competencies of vocational students: (1) positive practices can be collected and implemented; (2) vocational completers from pilot sites requiring competency tests…

This research is part of a comprehensive effort to pinpoint the key leadership factors that improve student achievement and increase the number of high school graduates who are ready for college and careers. In this study, SREB (Southern Regional Education Board) examined the role of the district office in providing principals with the working…

This guide is designed to offer strategies for building leadership capacity in schools and to assist school administrators in finding new ways to encourage and support teachers and students in their efforts to succeed. The guide answers four questions: (1) What do leaders do to create curriculum and instruction that push all students to higher…

Goal 9 of twelve Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) Challenge to Lead goals is that every school regardless of its student population, location or surrounding economic circumstances has a leader who can work with faculty to increase student learning. This report discusses progress toward this goal since 2002 in the 16 SREB states. It also is…

This report defines six strategies that state and district leaders can employ to secure an ample supply of highly qualified school principals. The six strategies were drawn from research and direct experience in helping schools, universities, and state agencies rethink and redesign educational leadership programs. The six strategies are as…

A study examined the following questions to ascertain what progress has been made in improving the educational achievement of vocational students through the "High Schools That Work" initiative: (1) What progress has been made in raising the achievement of vocational students to national averages or higher? (2) What things matter in…

Good news about reading achievement of career-bound students at High Schools That Work (HSTW) sites includes the following: (1) 60% of the 260 sites that tested students in 1993/94 and again in 1996 saw improvement in reading scores; (2) the performance of all students majority and minority improved significantly; (3) HSTW sites widened the gap…

The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB)-State Vocational Education Consortium's commitment to higher standards for and greater achievement of vocational students has brought substantial gains in student performance. SREB's High Schools That Work (HSTW), a school improvement initiative, documents achievement gains by vocational students. Data…

This publication contains descriptions of "outstanding practices" in high schools that had the most success in improving student performance by doing the best job of implementing one particular High Schools That Work key practice. The 33 efforts are organized according to which of these 10 key practices they reflect: high expectations…