Every program in a school or school district has, or once had, a purpose. The purpose was most likely promoted, argued and debated among school constituencies--parents, teachers, administrators and school board members--before it was eventually approved. This process occurs year after year, budget after budget. In itself, this is not necessarily a…

Sanger Unified School District in California's Central Valley had been named one of the worst 98 school districts in California. It was not only one of the worst-performing districts in a state with 1,042 districts, but it also had been flagged as one of the first to be named a program improvement district under No Child Left Behind. In this…

Books by education experts and speakers at national professional conferences have inspired many school leaders to initiate professional learning communities (PLCs). Sustaining them effectively to raise student achievement is another matter. How can one know whether a PLC is moving toward a desired outcome? Measuring effectiveness requires an…

Educational evaluation in too many states and school districts, if done at all across an institution, has been reduced to crunching test scores in only the subject areas and grade levels tested. While measuring student achievement in reliable and valid ways is an important part of the mission of education, it is not enough. What's also needed is a…

A recent Google search for information regarding performance pay in education produced 6.1 million results. This number should come as no surprise given the current level of interest in incentives as a popular reform option in public education. Supporters believe pay-for-performance programs encourage less effective teachers to improve and will…

The idea behind public charter schools was to develop flexible models of public schools and to incubate innovative ideas that then could be shared with the district's public schools. Today, almost 20 years since the first public charter school opened its doors in Minnesota, one still does not see consistent, productive collaboration and shared…

In this article, the author discusses her school's ability to retain its Latino students through a college-going culture based on non-negotiables. The School of International Business of the Kearny High School community, which is part of the San Diego Unified Schools, has flourished during its seven-year history despite constant budget uncertainty…

Who would bet that superintendents would sign up for another layer of accountability--creating portfolios of their best work, tracking their personal growth as superintendents, documenting systemic change initiatives and compiling evidence of impact? The Michigan Association of School Administrators (MASA) made that bet, and in 2006 the state…

The Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) works with administrators and teachers to build their skills in research-based ELL strategies that can be implemented in general education settings. This article discusses the five key elements that guide the work of the academies. These are: (1) Assemble a strong leadership team; (2)…

Educators are becoming more aware of the limitations of testing that simply measures student achievement at a single point in time, such as benchmark tests, locally constructed formative tests, conventional standardized tests, and state assessments used to determine adequate yearly progress under No Child Left Behind. Not surprisingly, school…

The Cobb County (Georgia) School District, which transports 61,000 students to 88 schools on 763 buses daily, avidly studied privatization possibilities. Since the bus fleet is relatively new and drivers' wages compare favorably with metropolitan Atlanta's, the district concluded it could transport students better and more cheaply. A sidebar lists…

AASA began an inquiry in 2001 to understand how barriers to effective after-school programs could be overcome by school district leaders. The issue, well-known anecdotally, had not to date been researched. School leaders tend to agree that after-school programs are sound educationally but struggle to operate and sustain such programs.…

New leaders in educational systems sometimes fail to live up to their potential, despite obvious talent, ability and enthusiasm. In part, this may be because they have no one with whom to discuss troublesome issues or to turn to with problems--or at least no one in whom they are comfortable confiding. Some school districts have mentor programs for…

In this article, the author discusses how after-school programs are very popular with the public. A series of annual voter surveys conducted by the Afterschool Alliance shows public support consistently running in the 90 percent range, with 76 percent of voters even going so far as to say they would be willing to pay additional taxes if more…

Using this document, school leaders can engage after-school stakeholders in an informed and thoughtful process about developing, implementing and evaluating after-school programs at their schools. As the interest in after-school programs grows, so does the need for reliable information about what works. Although the field is relatively new, a…