School districts have historically operated summer programs to give students extra learning and enrichment opportunities to promote positive academic and behavioral outcomes. Despite the potential benefits and policymakers' endorsement of summer programming, recent research suggests that summer programs have a limited impact on post-pandemic…

Authors Casey Reason and Brandon J. Larson advocate for the strategic design and development of impactful activities and athletics to enhance school culture. Their Rally model provides strategies for aligning extracurricular programs with academic goals, fostering leadership, and boosting participation and engagement. The Rally approach improves…

Teachers have an important influence on pupils' academic progress, yet the quality of teaching varies widely. Policymakers, school leaders, and teacher educators therefore face the challenge of designing and commissioning professional development (PD) to help all their teachers become as effective as the best teachers. In the last two decades, a…

Federal financial aid serves as a crucial tool to support both access and success for students in higher education. This is especially true at community colleges. Whether they are seeking job training, a certificate, or an associate degree, our students rely on consistent and meaningful sources of support to advance their educational aspirations.…

Students continually ask, "Does this count?" "Is this on the test?" They want to know how they'll be evaluated. Discover how to answer these questions in ways that shape student learning and keep teaching focused on what really matters. Written by language expert Paul Sandrock, this superb manual clarifies precisely what…

Small, rural schools have proportionately as many gifted students as larger schools and can have quality gifted educational programs. As in large schools, identification involves staff and self-referral and systematic record evaluations. Referral reviews determine if needs are being met in regular classrooms, suggest alternative strategies for…

Self-assessment leads to stronger performance in the nation's colleges and universities. That's the premise of "Excellence in Higher Education," a model self-assessment program that has earned accolades from the higher education community. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the fourth edition of this bestseller is the…

Self-assessment leads to stronger performance in the nation's colleges and universities. That's the premise of "Excellence in Higher Education," a model self-assessment program that has earned accolades from the higher education community. Based on the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award framework, the fourth edition of this bestseller is the…

There is plentiful discussion about the importance of accountability, but much needs to be done to translate it into a manageable and credible system of ongoing feedback. In this book, evaluative inquiry is used in a way that balances attention between the investigation process and its purpose. The book is divided into three parts. Following an…

This document presents an overview of the design and implementation stages of a Spencerport (New York) project, designed to improve the educational program and student learning in each building in the district. The first section describes the project's goal for each building, which is that (1) 95 (or greater) percent of all students should…

This paper describes the organizational structure, managerial responsibilities, and working policy of the 26-year old Andrews University Honors Program, an undergraduate program that was designed to attract talented and motivated students to the school, and operate effectively even during times of declining college enrollment. First, the paper…

The Ardmore, Oklahoma, School District developed the 3-year Pyramid Project to implement the following recommendations of the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Study of exemplary programs for high ability students: (1) broaden the process for assessing student abilities, (2) adopt continuous progress and appropriate pacing, (3) cultivate students'…

Based on the expertise generated by years of work in minority engineering program development, this handbook consolidates the experiences of program directors, industry sponsors, and school system collaborators. Its purpose is to provide quidelines for setting up a comprehensive precollege engineering program. Discussions include: (1) history; (2)…

An in-progress staff development program in a small, rural school district in South Carolina strives to make teaching and supervising more rewarding to the staff member while at the same time improving instruction for students in the schools. The program is the result of attempts by the school district to survive through staff development. With…

An increase in the number of schools adopting year-round programs prompted this analysis of all year-round education programs in California. Chapter 1, "Introduction to the Study," outlines study organization and calendar scheduling plans. "Design of the Study," chapter 2, describes data obtained from interviews, surveys,…