School districts shape the conditions in which schools operate and as such can support or undermine school success and thus student success. All of which is to say that school districts matter. This article looks at the success of two districts whose low-income and minority students beat the odds in academic achievement. Lessons from these…

Even though theme is cited in two of the 10 Common Core Standards for Reading Literature, little is written on how to teach it. Determining theme while reading a story is a critical element of reading literature, yet some children simply struggle. The instructional strategies presented here are designed to hone students' theme awareness and…

School librarians will play a crucial role in the support of the implementation of the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards (CCSS). More than ever, to ensure these standards are met, school librarians must work in tandem with classroom teachers. School librarians will be instrumental in providing opportunities for students to access…

The purpose of this study was to determine if a difference in achievement scores exist between students who attended the Johnson County School System preschool program and those who did not as measured by standardized TCAP achievement test Reading/Language Arts and Math scores of students in the third and fourth grades. The variables of grade…

As of January 2012, 45 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in English language arts and mathematics developed through the leadership of the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. Released in June 2010, these voluntary standards outline the knowledge and…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is the most successful attempt to gain consensus across states for 21st century standards in language arts and mathematics. So far, 46 states have accepted these standards, with two consortia organized to translate them into resources and sample activities. A consultant firm has been hired to develop the…

As writing has assumed increasing importance in discussions of pedagogy for diverse classrooms, attention to the contexts in which secondary teachers develop and implement writing instruction for adolescent English language learners (ELLs) is of great importance. Drawing on ecological language learning theories and situated teacher learning theory…

This study investigated the extent to which differences in implicit and explicit math--language gender stereotypes, and essentialist beliefs among preservice teachers affect tracking recommendations for math/science versus language-oriented secondary schools. Consistent with expectations, the results suggest that student's gender influences…

This article provides findings about how the construction of literacy practices mediated the positive identity development of first-grade bilinguals in an inquiry-based setting over an academic year. Utilizing a sociocultural approach and a Positive Discourse Analysis lens, the researcher reports findings from an exemplary primary classroom that…

Balanced literacy has been proposed as a compromise or middle ground between philosophical approaches to reading instruction that stress teaching of word recognition and those that stress construction of meaning. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the READ 180 balanced literacy supplementary instruction program on…

This study investigated the relation between the easyCBM Benchmark Assessments in both mathematics and reading and the Smarter Balanced assessment, widely adopted across the United States. Data for the study were obtained from a convenience sample of approximately 1,000 students per grade in grades 3-8 provided by two school districts in the…

This article explores the development of a professional learning community through a case study of three teachers--an ESOL specialist, a literacy specialist, and a fifth-grade teacher--who engaged in co-teaching and collaboration. The emerging community of practice offered these teachers a space to learn and problem-solve by utilizing their…

Bilingual teacher education scholars continue to advocate for the improvement of Spanish language-related teacher preparation practices. However, the field is in need of research on how bilingual teacher educators across the U.S. are addressing this task in their work with future teachers. In responding to this call, I describe an approach and an…

US public education faces concerted attack by those bent on corporate control, privatization, regimented reading instruction, and high-stakes testing. One democratic, humanistic, and research-based alternative can be found in the theory and practice of whole language, which empowered teachers and students alike through the 1980s and 1990s -- until…

Montana's definition of a basic system of quality public elementary and secondary schools includes educational programs for at-risk students (20-9-309, MCA). State statute defines an at-risk student as a "student who is affected by environmental conditions that negatively impact the student's educational performance or threaten a student's…