What does it take to transform a large, bureaucratic institution with a fractured culture and a compliance orientation into a nurturing, collaborative, vision-directed organization? This report and the accompanying research brief endeavor to answer that question by examining a humanistic and systems thinking approach to cultural change that took…

The Building State Capacity and Productivity (BSCP) Center released a report outlining a process for state education agencies (SEAs) to evaluate and improve their System of Recognition, Accountability, and Support (SRAS). The federal government now sets high expectations for state and local use of federal dollars while allowing greater state…

The federal School Improvement Grants (SIG) program aims to improve student achievement by promoting the implementation of four school intervention models: transformation, turnaround, restart, and closure. Previous research provides evidence that low-performing schools adopt some practices promoted by the four models, but little is known about how…

Many reformers suggest that urban district central offices would strengthen teaching and learning districtwide if they operated as "learning organizations." But what does it mean for a school district central office to operate as a learning organization? This article draws on research about learning theory and school district central offices to…

The set of two case studies examines the supports for instructional improvement in two school districts through the experience of individual teachers who are trying to change their practice in accordance with the district's reform work. Our overarching research question for these case studies was: What supports this teacher in changing his or her…

This article describes the approach of a five-year initiative, funded by the National Science Foundation, to improve the teaching of mathematics and science in 10 rural school districts of Missouri. Traditional challenges of improving the professional practice of teachers are addressed through a regional partnership. External project evaluation…

Growing out of experience in the Pacific Institute for Nonsexist Education (PINE), this paper describes how an evaluation approach derived from oral history and anthropology was used to document the lessons learned about the design and operation of a sex equity technical assistance program. A brief overview describes the PINE program which…

Describes the products and services available from the National Center to Improve Practice (NCIP), which exists to promote change within schools and local districts to increase the use of educational technology with students with disabilities. NCIP's awareness materials, telecommunications network, video conferences, technical assistance services…

In 1990 the Michigan Inclusive Education Initiative was implemented by the state department of education to facilitate full inclusion of disabled students into regular classroom settings. This paper reports on implementation of inclusive education within the Marquette-Alger Intermediate School District (MAISD) in the Upper Peninsula region of…

Program improvement activities can be classified into four categories based on the source of the impetus and the locus of the change agent: systematic, symbolic, opportunistic, and pragmatic. This paper (1) describes the various approaches to implementing Chapter 1 program improvement activities at the state and local district levels in 13 western…

As part of a national Middle Start initiative led by the Academy for Educational Development (AED), Mid South Middle Start is committed to working with high-poverty schools in the Mid South Delta region to build their capacity to foster students' academic excellence, support the development of young adolescents, and achieve social equity in…

This report on the National Assistance Project for Special Education Technology provides a description, evaluation of the project, case studies, and vignettes. The project provided technical assistance to local school districts to implement technology within special education programs. In year 1, technical assistance was provided to 27 local…

The 5-year New Hampshire Statewide Systems Change Project has provided training and technical assistance to educators, families, and communities to effectively implement the full inclusion of students with disabilities in New Hampshire schools and communities. This guide was developed to disseminate successful strategies for starting the process…

A monograph for school district personnel and education agencies presents a comprehensive plan to address the legal and administrative complexities of implementation of services for language minority students, particularly in bilingual education programs. The first section sketches federal involvement in bilingual education and related programs…