Learning analytics has emerged from a confluence of factors including expanding volumes of student data generated from learning management systems and student information systems, advanced technologies for retrieving and analyzing that data, and a desire of higher education institutions to understand more about student behavior, teaching and…

Although varying among and within the states, the percentage of students with 504 plans is steadily and significantly increasing as a national average. Although the professional literature addresses the legal standards for eligibility for 504 plans, it has not provided up-to-date information to practitioners as to the legal standard for the…

This study explores how six school leadership teams in a rural district in California responded to professional development (PD) designed to strengthen leadership practices and organizational conditions in schools for improving teaching and learning. Specifically, the PD was intended to address the problem of practice identified by the schools:…

For school districts in California, just as one set of revolutionary new content standards is beginning to feel familiar, another deep change is brewing. Districts have now had more than five years to wrestle with how they implement the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSS-M) (NGA Center & CCSSO, 2010). Many have made large-scale…

This paper presents a set of strategies and options that California can use to leverage Medi-Cal, the State's Medicaid program, to move toward an equitable, advanced health delivery system for its children. Close to five million children are enrolled in Medi-Cal, more than two-thirds of whom are Black and Brown children. California's program alone…

In response to the need to develop leaders to guide the implementation of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York provided funding to WestEd to develop a framework that defines the leadership knowledge and actions needed to effectively implement the NGSS. The development of the framework entailed…

We report on the scaling up of a high school content literacy framework, Reading Apprenticeship, over a period of four years as part of the independent evaluation of an Investing in Innovation grant from the U.S. Department of Education to WestEd's Strategic Literacy Institute (SLI). Our goal was to understand the school processes that support…

Since the inception of a "Nation at Risk" (1983) and the gradual growth of the school reform movement over the following several decades, the social and political milieu that exist today under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) can be best described as an era in which public education is fending itself from extinction and takeover, often from…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

With national attention on scaling up the implementation of Response to Intervention, problem solving teams remain one of the central components for development, implementation, and monitoring of school-based interventions. Studies have shown that problem solving teams evidence a sound theoretical base and demonstrated efficacy; however, limited…

The Student Study Team (SST) is described as a California intervention model that encourages effective multidisciplinary team participation. The development, training, operation, and evaluation of such teams are discussed, and implementation recommendations are offered. The article includes a flow chart of the SST process, a meeting competency…

Reducing school energy costs can increase the discretionary dollars available in the school budget. The first part of this guide introduces the key elements of an effective energy management program. Through an evaluation of nearly 150 California school district programs and a detailed review of 22 exemplary programs, the 12 following elements…

The report of a California task force examines new or revised special education service delivery models which would allow for maximum interaction between special education and general education. After a review of the literature and a 2-day policy forum, the task force concluded that there is no one model appropriate for all schools and all…

The purpose of this study was to examine similarities and differences in how schools and school districts have successfully implemented the California mathematics and science curriculum frameworks. Implementation factors include: the use of cross-role teams and implementation plans; assistance; administrative commitment and pressure; program…