A leadership academy is a formal professional learning opportunity for current school leaders, focused on augmenting knowledge and skills, increasing specialization, and refreshing leadership practices. States interested in supporting leadership academies through federal or other funding sources can look to current models of leadership academies…

Oregon's Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems (EBISS) initiative was implemented in 25 school districts. The initiative trained and coached district leaders and teachers in the use of the EBISS model through the lens of implementation science. The EBISS model integrates school-wide positive behavior intervention and supports…

In the face of dwindling financial resources, educational leaders are looking to refine resource allocation while maintaining a focus on improved student outcomes. This article presents initial findings from a professional development state initiative called Effective Behavioral and Instructional Support Systems (EBISS). The EBISS initiative aims…

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), most recently reauthorized in 2004, requires the inclusion of transition services in an individualized education program (IEP) for students with disabilities by the time they reach their 16th birthday, or earlier if determined appropriate by the IEP team. The IEP must include "(1)…

This report describes the Oregon Department of Education's 5-year Capacity Building Program (CBP), which had as its primary goal the development of a management plan and an information network to provide access to educational resources in response to state and local needs. A discussion of program goals is followed by a review of CBP management…

In 1987, Oregon moved to an outcome-based approach to teacher preparation and licensure, insisting on evidence of learning gains by students taught as one of the accomplishments that teachers need to demonstrate. Oregon's program and its implications for teacher education and educational improvement are discussed. (SLD)

Oregon's School Improvement and Professional Development Program (SIPD) was created to: (1) assist local district goal achievement; (2) establish site committees to initiate school improvement and shared decision making; and (3) provide professional development opportunities. The following outcomes are evaluated in this report: development of…

The Oregon component of a four-state project working towards the design of a staff development and school improvement support system is described. Information was gathered from various sources regarding the number and kinds of continued professional development activities engaged in by schools throughout the state. These data were fashioned into a…

Second-year outcomes of the Oregon School Improvement and Professional Development Project, which included 54 new and 32 continuing program sites, are presented in this report. Interviews with 187 staff members from 24 sites generated information on program impacts on goal development, assessment activities, school-based management, and…

This seminar, sponsored by the Oregon Council for Continued Professional Development and the Oregon Department of Education, brought together 60 educational leaders from all sectors and from all regions of Oregon to discuss staff development issues. Fostering collaborartion between elementary/secondary and postsecondary institutions was a central…