In today's world, getting the attention of educators, parents, and policymakers can be difficult, and without buy-in from everyone involved, successfully implementing the middle school concept can seem impossible. This resource shows you not only that it can be done, but also demonstrates exactly how to do it in your school! Read and watch as…

This is the first article of the Volume 7 "EBP Briefs." The "Briefs" provide explicit guidance in how to approach specific clinical questions and rich models of implementing evidence-based practice as a systematic clinical-care process. "EBP Briefs" first appeared in the winter of 2006, quite soon after the American…

The Case Management Partnership Initiative (CMPI) addresses chronic truancy by linking truant ninth graders and their families to social services and case management, along with regular interagency case management meetings. A pilot was conducted at Anacostia and Ballou High Schools in 2011-2012. The implementation evaluation found that the pilot…

The English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (ELA CCSS) come at a time when many reading teachers, literacy coaches, and classroom teachers seek more extensive literacy practices than the policy mandates of No Child Left Behind and Reading First. These initiatives placed requirements for instruction in core aspects of reading at the…

For many school districts in the United States, making the transition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is proving to be a challenge at a time when they are already facing many obstacles, not the least of which is dwindling financial resources. A change of this magnitude cannot be made haphazardly; to be successful in its goal of helping…

Tiered models of service delivery for both academics and behavior are being increasingly adopted across the nation, and discussions of how to implement these models effectively and simultaneously are growing. In this article, the authors share some lessons learned from a 2-year implementation project to implement a comprehensive (both academic and…

The most high profile one-to-one implementations have come at the state level in Maine, Michigan and Texas, providing valuable examples for administrators to learn from. In this article, the author discusses how the three states led the way in large-scale one-to-one programs.

Part II of "Reclaiming Kindergarten" continues the discussion related to responding to the crisis in today's kindergarten. In Part II, two policy questions are posed, the answers to which seek to respond to this continuing crisis. The questions center on issues related to engaging families in kindergarten and the need to consider a new early…

One common theme underlying recent reports on science education is that the content of school science and its related pedagogical approaches are not aligned with the interests and needs of both society and the majority of the students. Most students do not find their science classes interesting and motivating. These claims are especially valid…

The Technology Accentuated Teacher Education for Rural Specialists (TATERS) program aimed to: (a) prepare highly qualified special education teachers across a state comprised of more than 70% rural districts, (b) develop a system of support through a mentor network and institutions of higher education collaboration to address the needs of teacher…

Focus groups were convened in 2005 and 2013 as the first step in successive MPA curriculum review and revision processes. Although the criteria for selecting participants and the questions posed to the groups were similar, the focus groups generated dramatically different perspectives regarding the challenges confronting administrators. An…

The Logic Model Workshop Toolkit is designed to help practitioners learn the purpose of logic models, the different elements of a logic model, and the appropriate steps for developing and using a logic model for program evaluation. Topics covered in the sessions include an overview of logic models, the elements of a logic model, an introduction to…

On December 11, 2014, "New America" convened a group of leading experts on dual language learners (DLLs) to launch its new Dual Language Learners National Work Group. The group aimed to address three questions: (1) What are the key best practices for dual language learner instruction, policy, and research?; (2) What are the areas of…

This Report to Congress is required by Section 658L of the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) Act as amended. The report provides information about the role of the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which is authorized under the CCDBG Act, in improving access to high-quality child care in states, territories, and tribes. This…

In this report, we present three of the most critical challenges facing our public schools--areas where greater investments, strategic expansion of effective practices, and thoughtful collaboration can bring us closer to achieving our statewide vision of excellence for every child. Indeed, the purpose of this report is not to generate new policy…