The investigation identified Delaware public and charter middle schools across the state which outperformed other Delaware middle schools with similar student demographic profiles. Teachers and administrators at six of these "Beating the Odds" schools and at six comparison middle schools were surveyed regarding their schools…

Finding time for teams to work in schools is both a necessity and a responsibility. If educators are sincere about efforts to improve student learning, leaders must take responsibility for providing team time for teachers and a structure in which they are able to work collaboratively. The Papillion-La Vista (Nebraska) Public Schools took to heart…

Delivery of related services in elementary schools varies between pull-out, push-in, and consultative models of service delivery. One method that proved successful at an elementary school in suburban Philadelphia was room sharing between the occupational therapist and the learning support teacher. The occupational therapy services were…

This publication examines research on an instructional practice called teacher teaming as conducted in K-12 schools. Teacher teaming involves grouping two or more teachers together with responsibility for a group of students for instructional purposes. The report describes the major literature about the relationship that exists between teacher…

In a recent issue of "Educational Action Research," Stephen Kemmis argued that action research should be participative in nature and involve "open communication" by engaging the voices and perspectives of others besides teachers, such as students, parents/caregivers and other community members. This article explores the…

Brewer Elementary is facing problems with their students' achievement in literacy and mathematics. Teachers are consistently struggling with students underperforming on state standardized tests over several years, reflecting national trends that show students of color often struggle when compared with white students (Testing: Index of Diversity,…

Describes how one elementary principal created a professional learning community within her school. The process involved providing times for teachers to collaborate, determining how to spend the time, ensuring communication, building on what already existed, and focusing on creating a collaborative culture in order to have a positive impact on…

Massachusetts is heralded nationally for being the first in the nation to enact a state policy to redesign and expand the learning day for all students to advance academic achievement, broaden enrichment opportunities, and improve instruction. The Expanded Learning Time (ELT) Initiative has gained momentum over the past several years due to the…

Learning communities are a popular strategy that community colleges nationwide have embraced in support of developmental students. In a learning community, a cohort of students takes two or more courses linked by integrated themes and assignments that are developed through ongoing faculty collaboration. While the number of learning community…

In this article, the authors illustrate the three fundamental elements of school leadership: academic focus, shared beliefs and values, and productive professional relationships. These three elements purportedly produce strong organizational cultures, more teaching expertise, and better student achievement and more thoughtful and caring citizens.…

This volume of Collaborative Partnerships between ESL and Classroom Teachers gives emphasis to collaborative partnerships in the middle and high school levels. Editors Faridah Pawan and Ginger Sietman gather expert authors who present us with models of classroom-based and school-based collaborative partnerships from middle and high schools across…

A growing body of literature suggests that when schools become professional communities there are expected benefits in terms of teacher learning, school improvement and student achievement. In this article the concept of professional communities is examined for certain subject departments in Dutch secondary schools. The authors report on research…

Many middle schools do not use one of the most important strategies to improve student achievement and create socially equitable, developmentally responsive middle schools: becoming a professional learning community. This article summarizes the five disciplines which are vital for learning organizations -- systems thinking, personal mastery,…

Randall Eberts explores the role of teachers unions in public education. He focuses particularly on how collective bargaining agreements shape the delivery of educational services, how unions affect both student achievement and the cost of providing quality education, and how they support educational reform efforts. Eberts's synthesis of the…

This report, the Center on Education Policy's (CEP's) third annual review of Maryland's efforts to restructure schools under the No Child Left Behind Act, finds that (1) although between school years 2006-07 and 2007-08 the number of schools in the restructuring implementation phase declined slightly, there was a drastic increase in the number of…