Boston Public Schools (BPS) commissioned companion studies as part of its efforts to address achievement gaps for Black and Latino males. The first study revealed the increasing diversity of Black and Latino males and stark opportunity gaps throughout the system that contribute in large part to wide attainment gaps for these students. We…

Boston Public Schools (BPS) commissioned companion studies as part of its efforts to address achievement gaps for Black and Latino males. The first study revealed the increasing diversity of Black and Latino males and stark opportunity gaps throughout the system that contribute in large part to wide attainment gaps for these students. We…

Research on how to improve the quality of education for all students and reduce academic achievement gaps has primarily focused on individual schools (Fullan, Bertani, & Quinn, 2004). In contrast, the research published on successful district-driven strategies and processes has been comparatively sparse (Honig & Copland, 2008). To sustain…

Beginning in 1998, the editors of "Technology and Children" ("T&C") have included 72 different children's books in a regular feature called "Books to Briefs." These columns are offered to teachers as a means of integrating design and technology activities into elementary-school curricula via children's literature. The purpose of this study was to…

In 2008, the Helen Macpherson Smith (HMS) Trust commissioned Victoria University to conduct an evaluation of the Mentoring and Capacity Building Initiative's Regional Coordination Projects (RCPs). The RCPs are founded on a model of community education and collaboration that aims to enhance cross-sectoral and whole-of-community approaches to…

There are 54 million working adults in the United States without bachelor's degrees (Pusser et al., 2007). Many would like to obtain a college degree but need an educational program that fits their needs. A viable alternative to a traditional college program is an accelerated program in a cohort format. This article highlights best practices for…

These are heady days for online learning in the academy. What was once the domain of innovative institutions, administrators, and faculty is quickly becoming mainstream. Higher education has seen rapid growth in online enrollments relative to the rest of the college population. More than one in five college students has taken a class online. A…

The last decades have seen increased emphasis on the quality of training for direct-care staff serving people with intellectual disabilities. Nevertheless, it is unclear what the key aspects of effective training are. Therefore, the aim of the present meta-analysis was to establish the ingredients (i.e., goals, format, and techniques) for staff…

The Best Practices for Mental Health in Child Welfare Consensus Conference focused on developing guidelines in five key areas (screening and assessment, psychosocial interventions, psychopharmacologic treatment, parent engagement, and youth empowerment) related to children's mental health. This paper provides an overview of issues related to the…

Parents often go to principals to ask for help in supporting their gifted children. They may request acceleration for their child in mathematics, a specialized curriculum or course, extracurricular activities, a pullout program, or even a different teacher. Since misconceptions about identifying gifted students are prevalent, it's important that…

This article highlights the annual Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE) Convention held at Charlotte, North Carolina. It was the first time that the premiere professional development event for career and technical educators had come to Charlotte and the city did not disappoint. In fact, Charlotte proved to be the perfect place for…

The purpose of this Research and Policy Brief is to provide state and local policymakers with a comprehensive understanding of the measures used in teacher evaluation--their strengths, limitations, and current use in policy and practice. This brief will underscore aspects of evaluation policies currently aligned with best practices as well as…

The purpose of this research study was to identify examples of women education leaders at their best. There were two parts to the study procedures. First, the women were asked to write a case story about a time when they were involved in a successful leadership experience. Second, the women were divided into small groups of 5-8. In the small…

Evidence-based practice and evidence-informed practice are not just buzzwords in education. It is essential that administrators encourage both the development and the application of new knowledge in the field. This study of 1755 elementary age children in Central Texas indicates a positive association between the experience of childhood loss and…

The racial achievement gap in education is an important social problem to which decades of research have yielded no scalable solutions. Recent evidence from "No Excuses" charter schools--which demonstrates that some combination of school inputs can educate the poorest minority children--offers a guiding light. In the 2010-2011 school…