In "Where Teachers Thrive," Susan Moore Johnson outlines a powerful argument about the importance of the school as an organization in nurturing high-quality teaching. Based on case studies conducted in fourteen high-poverty, urban schools, the book examines why some schools failed to make progress, while others achieved remarkable…

This study used comparative interrupted times series analyses to assess the impact of a continuous improvement-focused family engagement intervention on ninth grade attendance and course passing rates. The intervention, conducted in an urban district, sought to improve middle and high school family engagement practices during the transition to…

Closing the achievement gap in reading for struggling students is a goal that most urban schools are striving to achieve in this era of No Child Left Behind. Early intervention remains the best approach for successfully supporting those who struggle in the primary grades, but instruction must be targeted or matched to the assessed needs of the…

This study examined the effectiveness of a new school to adult life transition planning lesson package titled "Student-Directed Transition Planning". The "Student-Directed Transition Planning" lessons teach transition terms and concepts to provide a means to increase self-determination skills and student participation in…

While teaching in New York City public schools, the author began planning collaboratively with a team of mathematics teachers. Collaborative planning enabled them to consider a range of issues that may not have emerged had they been planning independently. In this article, the author first describes their work through excerpts of conversations…

The responses of 472 educators were used to develop the Pre-Referral Intervention Team Inventory (PRITI), a 24-item Likert scale. Principal axis analyses resulted in a one-dimensional structure with high internal consistency that explained 57% of the total variance. Acceptability of team procedures was strongly and positively correlated with a…

One of the greatest difficulties facing learning community programs at urban non-residential colleges and universities is the challenge of promoting communication and collaboration among faculty from different disciplines. In this article, the authors, a learning communities coordinator and a learning communities faculty team member, describe and…

There is a disconnect between what principals are being asked to manage and accomplish and the level of support they receive to meet expectations. At a time when rhetoric on the principalship is focused on collaboration, most principals find themselves working in an isolated position within hierarchical organizations. And while principals are…

Describes how extraordinary collaborations between agencies, educators, architects, and others created special places to learn within the New York City school system. Discusses this group approach in fostering commitment and achieving success in creating innovative educational facility designs. (GR)

When Prince George's County Public Schools created a teacher mentor program, administrators also created a system for evaluating it with clear expectations and goals at the outset. Precisely defining objectives enabled leaders to see their progress, determine what needed to change along the way, and build support for the program.