Collective leadership of teachers and administrators can be a vehicle for catalyzing school improvement. In chemistry, a catalyst is any substance that increases the rate of reaction without itself being consumed. Leadership that accelerates good work without using up the leader is increasingly necessary. We identified schools that demonstrated…

The purpose of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the perspectives of school leaders who have supported teachers' transition through the implementation and sustained use of blended learning in middle school and high school settings in New York State. The theory that guided this study was Bridges's (2016) transition theory. The…

Inequity and marginalization exist within educational structures, policies, and practices. As such, practitioners, like district-level leaders need a clearer understanding of the barriers and their role in making meaning and shaping progress to overcome the disconnect between their beliefs, data, and meaningful and sustainable action. This study…

Currently, the perceived use of critical theoretical frameworks to shape instruction in public K-12 education is undergoing intense scrutiny in popular and political debate. Chief among such frameworks has been Critical Race Theory (CRT), which, at the time of this writing, has been legally banned or restricted in eighteen states -- with similar…

This technical report provides information about the sample, survey instrument, and resultant data for the American Instructional Resources Surveys (AIRS) that were administered to principals and teachers in spring 2019 via RAND's American Educator Panels. The AIRS focused on instructional resources used and supported in English language arts,…

In this study, research centered on the degree to which principals felt knowledgeable about basic generic leadership as well as special education functions. Current principals were selected from the 2018 state DOE databases from five states--Georgia, New York, Michigan, Vermont, and Oregon representing a wide demographic base. Ten (10) functions…

Cross-connections between the sciences and mathematics are emphasized through the Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards in the United States. One topic that is a common bridge between math and science is the concept of measurement and unit conversions in the metric/English system. This article uses a mixed-methods…

This research explored the transformational leadership traits of principal participants in the Northeast of the United States. The mixed methods case study utilized two data sources: The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI; n = 110) and individual interviews (n = 28). Descriptive statistical data analyses highlighted the five pillars of…

The purpose of this evaluation was to understand the development, implementation, and impact of Project Exc-EL (Excellence for English Learners), a school-wide intervention focused on providing teacher professional development and training to better support English learners (ELs) in New York. Project Exc-EL focuses on training teachers to use data…

This technical appendix provides additional information about the sample, data, and estimation strategy used for a series of American Educator Panels (AEP) Data Notes published by the RAND Corporation in 2019. The Data Note series is intended to provide brief but incisive analyses of teacher and school leader survey results that may be of…

This study looks deeply inside 17 schools that stand at the vanguard of the current revolution in teaching. This new National Center on Time & Learning (NCTL) report reveals the substantive ways in which these schools are providing their teachers with more time to reflect on, develop, and hone their craft, by very explicitly leveraging an…

Over the past three decades, much of the conversation about LGBTQ students in schools has centered on safety--anti-bullying policies, the "safe space" of gay-straight alliances, and "safe zones" marked by rainbow-colored stickers on classroom doors. In this article, Michael Sadowski argues that it's time to move beyond safety…

A state education agency (SEA) served by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) has requested information regarding state-developed (also referred to as state-determined) alternative models for schools receiving School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds. The state-determined school improvement model (one of three new models) offers an alternative to…

The purpose of this study was to investigate principals' perceptions of the impact of the New York State Annual Professional Performance Review on instructional practices. Dr. Philip Hallinger's Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) was used to examine principal behaviors as they relate to school mission/goals, instruction and…

Research across the decades has confirmed that effective school leadership is associated with better outcomes for students and schools. A high-quality school leader affects dozens of teachers and hundreds or thousands of students. It is a pivotal role. From 2011 to 2016, The Wallace Foundation, through its Principal Pipeline Initiative (PPI),…