Professional learning communities (PLCs) are being recognized as effective in improving teacher collaboration and student achievement. Trust is critical in effectively implementing the PLC model, and the school principal is best positioned to influence school trust levels. Using five facets of trust, this research sought to clarify the impact of…

This study examines the use of polling students to improve conditions of learning in their school. Students from three schools (N = 2,006) in Grades 5, 6, 7, and 8 completed an online poll about how cyberbullying affects their personal lives. Principals' impressions about the benefits of student polling are explained along with the Cyberbullying…

Appalled at a half-dozen fifth-graders' exclusionary and unsportsmanlike behavior on a new basketball court, a resourceful principal intervened next recess to pick teams and set rules. Everyone was allowed to play. Arguing, teasing, and intimidation resulted in benching. Eventually, about 40 children of both sexes and all sizes were playing in two…

Discusses African American othermothering in the role of providing the psychoeducational needs of the urban child. Presents two biographical portraits that examine othermothering by a elementary-school principal and community othermothering by a fifth-grade elementary-school teacher with 25 years of experience in the urban classroom. (GR)

Presents observations of a principal, a teacher, and a fifth-grade student at a Baltimore (Maryland) elementary school about how the Core Knowledge Curriculum (CKC) successfully works in their school. All three reveal the success of CKC in creating student interest and parent involvement. (GR)

Educators' perceptions of the effects of state mandated testing on instructional practices and curricular decisions were studied. An ethnographic interview study was conducted with 30 fifth- and sixth-grade teachers and 12 principals from Illinois, New York, and Tennessee. Forty-one of the 42 respondents agreed to have their interviews audiotaped.…

A study was done to determine what principals, teachers, parents, and children identify as the educational requirements and resources necessary to promote the educational success of Latino children. Four Boston (Massachusetts) elementary schools, all with large Latino student enrollments, were selected for the purposes of the study. Information…

This is one of a series of reports that document the formative research that supported the development of the "First Steps" program designed to improve the literacy and numeracy of primary school students in Western Australia, particularly those considered at-risk. The four themes of First Steps (reading, writing, spelling, and oral…