This brief focuses on coaching for more equitable student outcomes to bring about student success. It builds on the work of the Coaching for Change project conducted by the Community College Research Initiatives (CCRI) at the University of Washington. The authors emphasize the importance of equity in comprehensive college reform, including the…

National Board Certification is administered by the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards, to advance the quality of teaching and learning by developing professional standards for accomplished teaching, creating a voluntary system to certify teachers who meet those standards and integrating certified teachers into educational reform…

Place- and community-based education--an approach to teaching and learning that starts with the local--addresses two critical gaps in the experience of many children now growing up in the United States: contact with the natural world and contact with community. It offers a way to extend young people's attention beyond the classroom to the world as…

This guide is designed to help state leaders identify which comprehensive school-reform models have been adopted throughout the United States. It provides information on states being targeted by developers and the capacity of each design team. The guide is divided into 4 sections: Developers in States; Developers' Capacity; List of Developers; and…

Needs of college of education faculty for computer literacy are discussed. A definition of computer literacy is first given, followed by an example of how it was developed in the College of Education at the University of Minnesota. (MNS)

During the past decade, organizations and individuals in communities across the United States have come together in alliances to promote the improvement and reform of science, mathematics, and technology education in elementary and secondary schools. This handbook draws from the experiences of those pioneer local alliances to provide insights and…

This handbook describes the mission of each of the 10 Regional Educational Laboratories in the U.S. The laboratories ensure that those involved in educational improvement at the local, state, and regional levels have access to the best available information from research and practice, thus guaranteeing that lessons about school reform that are…

This guide examines claims for 24 schoolwide programs-- programs that promise to improve student learning by changing the entire school. Focusing on quantitative achievement measures such as test scores, grades, and graduation rates, the report was prepared for educators and others to assist them in their investigation of different approaches to…

Considers the long-term effects and outcomes of forming school/business partnerships. Outlines the success of such programs in the state of South Carolina. Claims that South Carolina is a leader in school/business partnership and urges other states to follow suit. (HB)

This booklet outlines Mississippi's plan for raising student achievement. It discusses how Mississippi tried to avoid the problems that other states encountered when they tried to raise standards without strengthening core educational components, such as curriculum and teacher support. Mississippi called on hundreds of teachers to rewrite the…

Many low-performing high schools find it difficult to implement effective action plans because research is lacking and policy options are limited. Committees comprised of all major stakeholding groups, including administrators, teachers, counselors, support personnel, parents, and community members should be formed by schools to oversee every step…

The data are clear: Too many students are not doing well in school. Too many are experiencing interfering barriers, most of which are not internal dysfunctions but are associated with neighborhood, family, school, and peer factors. If the situation is to change, schools must play a greater role in providing supports for students experiencing…

This guide is intended to help current and prospective charter school leaders decide whether and how to work with pre-existing "whole school designs." Such school designs range from those that cover one core element of school operations to designs covering almost every aspect of school operations. The guide contains initial information…

An inservice course on the teaching of writing was designed to provide a content within which reflection and learning could occur. The course began with a week-long period of study and discussion of theories of language, with particular emphasis on the development of writing abilities, and a consideration of the implications of such theories for…

This report evaluates 12 high schools in the New American High Schools (NAHS) program. Launched in 1996, NAHS is a U.S. Department of Education research project that was developed to showcase school-reform practices in selected schools. The report is based on a study that used NAHS schools as a "laboratory" for researching reform…