Sustaining comprehensive secondary school reform (CSR) represents an immensely difficult and unresolved challenge for the field. The problems associated with CSR are of significant concern to proponents of inclusion given that more responsive schools and classrooms are connected to, if not dependent upon, the success of broader school reform…

Drawing on data from a major Spencer Foundation study, this article focuses on the effects of major restructuring initiatives in New York State on a gifted and utterly committed teacher. It challenges the now ubiquitous assumption that "the reformer knows best" and reveals the gradual demise of an immensely gifted, dedicated teacher--a…

A report is presented on school reform interventions and outcomes of the Howard University Center of Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR)/Capstone Institute that uses evidence-based strategies to promote the academic achievement and social competence of African American children. The "participant action…

On January 23, 2004, President Bush signed the DC School Choice Incentive Act into law. This landmark piece of legislation included $14 million in funding for what would come to be called the DC Opportunity Scholarship Program (OSP). The OSP is the first federally funded K-12 scholarship program in the country and is designed to provide…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) focused national attention on improving schools so that all students reach academic proficiency by 2014. In the 2006-2007 school year, about 4,500 of the 54,000 Title I schools failed to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) for 4 or more years. Schools that miss AYP for 4 years are identified for…

This report was undertaken to assess the state of civic capacity for education reform in Philadelphia. It challenges community and civic sectors of the city to put aside individual interests and work together to mobilize resources to pursue the collective good of public school improvement. The report demonstrates that many of the elements…

In this volume, educators from Russia and western countries address the issue of the creation and management of schools in a modern democracy. Chapters examine the questions involved in the conception, justification, and implementation of the idea of "education for democracy." Following the acknowledgments and epigraph, chapters include…

This book was designed to help school, parent, and community leaders acquire the skills necessary for the successful restructuring of middle-level schools. Chapter 1 defines middle-level education and describes the forces that shaped and continue to shape middle-level education, the evolution of middle-level schools, and current middle-level…

There exists much research and theoretical literature on school restructuring that is of interest to policymakers, practitioners, and educational researchers. In this publication, a bibliography of journal articles, manuscripts, and books is provided that divides the literature into five areas. Section 1, "General References on School…

This report examines twenty-three schools in their first year of participation in a California-State-sponsored restructuring initiative called Every Student Succeeds (ESS). Four areas of restructuring are reviewed: (1) curriculum and instruction; (2) governance; (3) professional development of teachers; and (4) coordination of community resources.…

As one in a series of reports by 10 task forces that responded to the Oregon Education Act for the 21st Century and explored the restructuring of the Oregon education system, this report presents recommendations of the Non-Graded Primary Task Force. The report describes the feasibility of implementing non-graded primary programs in all school…

"Cityschools" reports on research regarding the transformation of urban schools to make this research more accessible to practitioners in urban classrooms. This theme issue focuses on youth violence, exploring how some schools, families, and communities are working together to organize their resources and to design strategies to fight violence.…

With the release of "A Nation at Risk" in 1983, Americans focused on the report's declaration of "a rising tide of mediocrity" in the schools, which suggested unacceptable results in the education of America's children and youth. Concurrent to the missives levied at schools' lack of progress with academics and other…

This essay grew out of a discussion of a gathering of college and university trustees and presidents, and it suggests that current changes in the higher education landscape demand a new look at accountability and the role of trustees in the governance and management of institutions. Discussion of restructuring notes how the range of meanings…

By describing what has been learned in disseminating Success for All, a reform program for high-poverty elementary schools, this paper explores how a national approach to professional development might enable professional development networks to implement proven school change models. Success for All restructures the elementary school by…