This article presents a plan to create a united approach to improve high quality instruction in Robbinsdale Cooper High School in New Hope, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneapolis. Professional learning communities were in their infancy, conversations around data were about autopsies of annual standardized tests, and there was no description of what…

Research highlights the importance of individualized approaches and coaching to ongoing professional learning (Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009). The purpose of this article is to describe an initiative that set out to help all students become proficient readers by 3rd grade. It demonstrates how coaching can support…

A partnership between Honeywell and a Minnesota school district benefited both organizations through shared resources and provision of staff development programs. Details on how this collaborative project was designed and implemented are discussed. (DF)

The Metropolitan Principals' Academy was formed in 1984 by eight suburban school districts in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in order to help administrators become more effective. The academy is described, and the research-based model of leadership which guides it is examined. (MT)

Describes the Graduate Induction Program, a collaborative effort by Winona State University (MN) and the Rochester (MN) Public School District, designed to encourage graduates entering the teaching program and renew veteran teachers. Graduate fellows earn a master's degree as they teach elementary classes, and the veteran teachers serve as…