This dissertation is a component of a larger group project that examines the concept of legal literacy within the educational system. Research over the last fifty years has demonstrated concern that educators have gaps in their legal knowledge in many areas, including church-state relations, student record-keeping practices, discipline, rights of…

In the ESSA Leadership Learning Community (ELLC), education agency leaders, community organization leaders, and others have together taken on challenges facing schools and school leaders in their states. They have produced advice to state agencies on policy design and rollout, for example on official definitions of equity, on requirements for…

As schools struggle with student achievement outcomes and school designations, the school improvement process has become a central aspect of leadership and planning for school principals as they work to ensure that every child has an opportunity to succeed. Previous researchers have indicated that culture influences everything that occurs in…

Anecdotal evidence points to the importance of school principals, but the limited existing research has neither provided consistent results nor indicated any set of essential characteristics of effective principals. This paper exploits extensive student-level panel data across six states to investigate both variations in principal performance and…

There is a growing need across PreK-12 urban school systems in the United States to support and create the conditions for academic, social, and emotional success for children and youth of subgroups who have historically been marginalized. In public school organizations with high leadership churn, how might central office systems-level leaders set…

This report provides an overview of major provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It also includes a table showing annual appropriations for ESEA programs for FY2017 through FY2022, as well as a table showing the transition in authorized programs and related appropriations from FY2016, when No Child Left Behind Act of 2001…

The role of the principal is very complex. Principals are the leader of the building and all the education that occurs within its walls. Included in the responsibilities for principals is the education of students with disabilities. A principal needs to have solid, fundamental knowledge of the scope of special education and the processes used for…

Principals are the leverage point for education reforms and the primary drivers of school improvement. A critical part of maintaining a corps of effective principals is rewarding and retaining the best school leaders. Unfortunately, few systems systematically identify principals that make important contributions to student learning or celebrate…

The following profiles address how the state departments of education are helping educators prepare for and implement their states' new college- and career-readiness standards and aligned assessments, through professional learning. SREB researchers examined each state's major professional development efforts around its new standards in order to…

The goal of this publication is to provide a snapshot of some of the publicly available resources describing efforts across Race to the Top States to ensure that turnaround schools have effective leaders. It is based on a review of Race to the Top State Annual Performance Reports, including State reports of Year 1 accomplishments and second year…

Implementation of college- and career-readiness standards is some of the most important work currently underway in states to improve student achievement and public education overall. SREB examined the efforts of 14 states--including 11 SREB states--to support implementation of new college- and career-readiness standards. The goal of the research…

As one of only six states receiving a federal Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy grant, Pennsylvania has designed and implemented an innovative program that focuses on improved instruction and interventions to ensure every student is literate and graduates from high school ready for college and a career. This report describes Pennsylvania's…

Implementation of college- and career-readiness standards is some of the most important work currently underway in states to improve public education and student achievement. This report provides a summary of findings from SREB's research into the efforts of 15 states--12 in the Southern Educational Research Board (SREB) region--to support…

Principals are critical to the success of any school improvement effort--from increasing academic rigor toward college- and career-ready standards to teacher evaluation and support. They ensure this success by building a strong, shared vision and leading effective implementation for staff, students, and families. The federal government has an…

This is the 2012 Yearbook of the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA). This Yearbook contains the following papers: (1) Editors' Sidebar (George Perreault and Luana Zellner); (2) The Hour Glass Economy: The Social Justice Challenge for the 21st Century (Fenwick W. English); (3) Maintaining the Human Touch in…