This "Informed Educator" examines research-proven strategies for implementing and sustaining school improvement by looking at the key elements of the process, enabling conditions for improvement, issues of school culture, and implementation. It also looks at school turnarounds and how to sustain school improvement once reforms are implemented.

Response to Intervention (RTI), an approach to systematically addressing the needs of struggling students, has been used primarily at the elementary school level. However, both its intent and its elements can also be used successfully in high schools. This "Informed Educator" describes what RTI is, as well as what it is not, highlights core…

A principal may have implemented a program that boasted glowing reports but didn't live up to its promise. The cause of this disparity could be that the program didn't match the school's and students' needs in terms of the curricular focus or that previous results were more positive than warranted. However, another possibility could be that the…