Fort Wayne Community Schools continue to increase student learning and meet state and national standards and expectations annually based on several factors that have made a difference for educators within the system: district and principal leadership, learning teams, effective learning designs, and deep commitment to a culture of learning. Fort…

Federal stimulus funding expired in 2011-12. NCLB performance mandates approached the 2013-14 deadline. The ESEA waiver became an option with first year of implementation, 2012-13. This convergence of forces and timeline provided the opportunity for this study. The study sought to explore whether or not superintendents from Connecticut,…

In the context of a global school reform movement, defining the extent of a principal's influence on teacher effectiveness and student achievement is essential. A principal must be more than a manager, but also a transformational and an instructional leader. This concurrent mix methods study incorporated guided interviews and an online survey…

District educational leaders throughout the nation are answering the call to action to provide both equitable and excellent schools for all learners, particularly for students who have been traditionally marginalized. Yet ironically, we know little about how district leaders are responding to this call as the voices of superintendents are scarcely…

The purpose of this research study was to design school profiles of two elementary schools in order to investigate the potential relationship between school climate dynamics and levels of student achievement. The research design for this study included a mixed method approach of quantitative and qualitative techniques. These techniques included…

The purpose of the study was to determine the connection between the principals' behaviors, especially their visibility, and the academic success of their schools while participating in the Alabama Math, Science, and Technology Initiative (AMSTI). The qualitative method of gathering and analyzing data was used, and the case study research design…

This study defines and analyzes the successful leadership practice of a principal of an urban K-8 school serving English Language Learners in the western United States during the 2012-2013 academic year. Focusing on the self-identified leadership practice of a school leader evidenced to positively affect student learning, this study seeks to…

In order to create a productive school culture, effective, sustainable change must occur at every level throughout a school system. This paper focuses on the components and process that break the barriers to change to create a productive school culture for change that transcends through the classroom, the school level, and district level. Ongoing,…

Tennessee was one of the first states to win Race to the Top funds in 2010, partly based on new state policy which tied student achievement measures to teacher and principal evaluations. Nearly half of state legislatures in the United States have passed similar legislation in the past two years. This article examines recent state legislative…

This article describes an Oakland Unified schools program of "blended learning" that is designed to reach students who are academically all over the map. Blended learning combines brick-and-mortar schooling with online education "with some element of student control over time, place, path, and/or pace" of learning. The program…

In response to concerns that children are physically inactive, a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention committee developed school-based implementation strategies centered on the components of a Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program (CSPAP), composed of the physical education program, physical activity during the school day, staff…

This article presents an interview with NCAA President Mark Emmert. President of the NCAA since October 2010, Dr. Mark Emmert is constantly engaged in a delicate balancing act, as he deals with the competing priorities and agendas of college presidents, coaches, athletic directors, boosters, sports agents, and the media, while trying to look out…

In each of its teacher workforce reports over the past dozen years, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd (CFTL) has combined solid research, thoughtful analysis, and plain language to describe who is teaching California's 6.2 million students. This year the author and his colleagues have expanded that focus to include the…

Much has been written during the past decade about the changing role of the principal and the shift in emphasis from manager to instructional leader. Anyone in education, and especially principals themselves, could develop a mental list of responsibilities that fit within each of these realms. But research makes it clear that both those aspects of…

As evidenced by countless studies, time spent engaging in the arts has lasting effects on children of all ages, not only instilling in them a sense of creativity and innovation, but also providing them the skills needed to compete in a global economy. In May 2011, the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities released "Reinvesting in…