Sunnyside High School in rural Washington faces many tough issues common to urban schools but has shown a remarkable ability to help students at risk for academic failure. The Sunnyside Intervention Program was developed for students with a history of poor academic performance, many of whom were involved in dangerous activities, including gangs.…

Education reform proposals are often based on high-profile or dramatic policy changes, many of which are expensive, politically controversial, or both. In this paper, we argue that the debates over these "flashy" policies have obscured a potentially important direction for raising student performance--namely, reforms to the management or…

Now that federal and state initiatives require school districts to provide job-embedded professional development, the next step is making it happen. This book helps districts define, develop, and implement a systematic inquiry-based process with a laser-like focus on both adult and student learning. This book's inquiry model challenges educators…

The research in the study examined the development and effects of an alternative model of parent/teacher collaboration on behalf of student learning. The setting for the research was IMPACT School, a small independent school serving students in grades kindergarten through eighth grade. Two primary research questions were addressed: (1) What…

This study investigated how professional development featuring evidence-based customization of technology-enhanced curriculum projects can improve inquiry science teaching and student knowledge integration in earth science. Participants included three middle school sixth-grade teachers and their classes of students (N = 787) for three consecutive…

The Focus Group Initiative (FGI) at North Delta Secondary School (NDSS) began in 2001 with the long-term goal of giving the kids an opportunity not only to demonstrate their leadership abilities, but also to use those skills to improve whatever school or community projects they were involved in. Once students were trained to be focus group…

Using data from the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System and College Results Online--a website that lets the public access a school's enrollment and graduation statistics on the basis of categories such as race, ethnicity, and gender--Education Trust or EdTrust, a Washington, DC-based nonprofit that aims to close the gaps that keep many…

The purpose of this case study was to provide insight into the challenges educational leaders face in their efforts to improve teaching and learning for English language learners within a context of increased testing and accountability. I examine the assumptions underpinning leadership practices to understand how teacher quality and student…

In order to move forward with State and local reforms designed to improve academic achievement and increase the quality of instruction for all students in a manner that was not originally contemplated by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), a State educational agency (SEA) may request flexibility, on its own behalf and on behalf of its…

We use a regression discontinuity strategy to produce causal estimates for the effect of remediation under Florida's test-based promotion policy on multiple outcomes for up to five years after the intervention. Students subjected to the policy were retained in the third grade, were required to be assigned to a high-quality teacher during the…

The three books reviewed in this essay all have a similar theme: the role that schools and other institutions can play in improving the life-chances of young people and breaking the cycle of socio-economic disadvantage and low educational attainment that is characteristic of school systems around the world. Through an evaluation of the Academies…

This longitudinal study examines the effects of a collaborative evaluation process on mathematics instruction and student outcomes in an elementary school serving a low-resource community. Thirty-two elementary teachers participated in a 3-year collaborative evaluation professional development process that contributed to improved mathematics…

In an effort to improve student achievement in our nation's public schools, former President George W. Bush signed into law the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. The NCLB Act requires that each State Department of Education establishes a set of standards for student achievement with a grading system for making adequate yearly progress (AYP)…

Today's rapidly changing schools and educational trends present administrators and school leaders with unique challenges. This fifth volume in the "Soul of Educational Leadership" series offers inspiring articles that examine how to sustain the achievements of school communities while building shared leadership to carry on the work of school…

This paper reports the findings from a research study conducted by the Institute for the Study of Knowledge Management in Education (ISKME) in partnership with the Faculty Inquiry Network (FIN), a professional development program designed to engage faculty at 18 colleges across California. Participants were FIN faculty teams involved in iterative…