This brief by the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse is about reaching for the stars--stories of vision and commitment from educators in small and large schools. Everyone knows of people who are held up as "visionaries" throughout history: Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, Jules Verne, Thomas Edison, Susan Anthony, or John Dewey, to name a few. The…

This book recounts the successful 8-year effort on the part of Grambling State Univesity, a historically black college in Louisiana, to raise the success rate of its students in passing the National Teacher Examination. The chapters in the book include: (1) "Excellence: In Search of Meaning" (Johnnie R. Mills); (2) "Literacy in…

Thirteen previously published articles from selected journals are presented, which concentrate on educationally disadvantaged children and youth, and are grouped under the four general themes or categories of children and youth, school practices, community involvement, and policy issues related to the Chapter 1 program. All the articles have been…

The 10 chapters in this book provide an overview of 5 years of work by member schools and colleges in the Urban Schools Network, which provides technical assistance to schools in 31 urban areas. "Overview of the Urban Schools Network" (Lola Jackson) is a history, defining purposes, participants, and priorities. "Integrating Academic…

In January 1982 the Further Education Curriculum Review and Development Unit (FEU) published a discussion paper dealing with the issues involved in expanding and improving Great Britain's vocational training and educational system. Following its publication and dissemination of the paper, the FEU sent a letter asking the major further and higher…

Six national education goals to be achieved by the year 2000 were established by the federal government and the nation's governors in 1990. The five essays in this monograph examine some of the changes taking place in society and in schools and colleges that are related to the six goals. The "Introduction" (Marilyn Guy) is followed by…

This monograph examines issues that will shape teacher education programs in the future. Following a foreword by Robert M. McClure, the monograph is organized into three chapters. The first, "Perestroika and Professionalism: The Case for Restructuring Teacher Preparation" (Linda Darling-Hammond), focuses on changes wrought by school…

This sourcebook synthesizes findings from studies on school improvement programs. The prefatory overview emphasizes key themes and issues addressed in the seven papers that comprise the body of the document, discusses the role of staff development, and examines the process of translating research into policy. The papers summarize the findings of…

The U. S. is losing its competitive edge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Thomas Friedman warns that America is not producing enough young people in STEM fields that are essential for entrepreneurship and innovation in the 21st century (The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, 2005). Blue ribbon…

What does it look like when a school uses data wisely? "Data Wise in Action", a new companion and sequel to the bestselling "Data Wise", tells the stories of eight very different schools following the Data Wise process of using assessment results to improve teaching and learning. "Data Wise in Action" highlights the…

This book examines the broader aspects of promoting children's learning and development through the Comer Process. The Comer Process, a schoolwide intervention formulated by James P. Comer, centers on healthy child development as the keystone to academic achievement and life success. The text focuses on the Yale School Development Program (SDP), a…

Educators and policymakers have accomplished much over the past decade, aided by parents and taxpayers. California has set a high bar for what all children are expected to learn, from kindergarten forward. Instructional materials and tests are now closely aligned, so that teachers know how to gauge their students' progress. And achievement growth…

In 2003, with funding from The Wallace Foundation, a national team of researchers organized by Stanford University and The Finance Project set out to find and examine a set of exemplary pre- and in-service professional development programs for principals, along with the policy contexts in which they operate. The purpose of the study was to…

This collection of papers examines the current issues in urban education as suggested by on-site studies of programs in sixteen different cities between 1977 and 1980. An overview of the problems in urban education and their causes is presented in the first paper. The second paper discusses program improvement strategies and several examples of…