In the fall of 2016, leadership in the Oklahoma Music Educators Association (OkMEA) recognized the need for a formal, music mentorship program for beginning educators. I provide a detailed description of how the mentorship co-chairs, president, immediate past president, and president-elect of OkMEA designed and implemented a statewide music…

A four-day school week (4dsw) is becoming more common, especially in areas across the western United States. States with large rural areas are spearheading this change. For example, Colorado, Idaho, Missouri, Montana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and South Dakota have more than 500 districts using a 4dsw. The transition to the 4dsw and the debate over…

The Accelerated Learning Work Group's introductory Guide to Accelerated Learning offers descriptions, resources, and examples of state education agencies implementing Accelerated Learning into their programs. It also answers questions, such as: (1) How should Accelerated Learning be implemented?; (2) How are educators best supported during…

In this essay, we discuss issues related to the integration of career exploration in our nation's middle schools. We discuss the theoretical and empirical basis for career exploration at the middle school level and identify selected barriers to its effective implementation, namely with regards to career advising and parent involvement. We also…

Home visiting is an important component of the early childhood (EC) landscape. However, states often fail to prioritize home visiting data when developing their early childhood integrated data systems (ECIDS). Home visiting represents a range of services, models, and programs, each with different data requirements, so integrating the data can be…

This report offers state leaders key areas for action to continue progress in implementing evaluation systems, even as federal policies on teacher evaluation relax state requirements. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) offers its current best thinking for how state agencies can make the smartest use of funds, time and partners to refine…

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for K-12 English language arts/literacy and mathematics, released in 2010, have been adopted by 49 states and territories; the District of Columbia; and the U.S. Department of Defense schools, which serve the children of U.S. service members around the world. The widespread adoption of the CCSS is a major…

This document was produced by the authors based on their research for the report, "Family Finding Evaluations: A Summary of Recent Findings. Publication #2015-01," and is an added resource for further information. The report reviews the results from 13 evaluations of Family Finding. The Family Finding model provides child welfare…

Though school is out for the summer, ninth- and tenth-grade students at Union Intermediate High School are burning off energy playing a game of tag on the soccer field. But that is not all they are doing. They are also synthesizing and applying key chemistry concepts they have just learned related to the conditions of the early solar system. They…

In 2009, the Coalition for Community Schools at the Institute for Educational Leadership (CCS-IEL) embarked on an ambitious action research and development project, leveraging the community school system infrastructure present in three geographic regions (Tulsa, Oklahoma; Multnomah County, Oregon; Albuquerque, New Mexico) to advance research and…

Engineering education directly supports the nation's capacity for economic growth, infrastructure renewal, and security, as well as environmental and human health. Numerous reports have recommended federal support to advance our understanding of how students learn, how faculty teach, and how teaching and learning are assessed. The U.S. National…

In late 1999, philanthropist Susie Buffett wanted to make the smartest possible investment to improve public education in her hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. She and her then-foundation president, Dan Pedersen, spoke with Superintendent John Mackiel regarding how he would choose to use private funds to enhance opportunities for Omaha's 46,000…

Children who do not develop a foundation of basic motor skills are less likely to participate in regular physical activity. An excellent way of teaching basic motor skills, as well as health-related fitness, is through gymnastics. Many young teachers, however, think that teaching gymnastics is too challenging and do not know how to incorporate it…

Discusses three essential components of successful cooperative education programs (commitment, pacing, and support) and offers practical suggestions to teachers, such as arranging groups efficiently, determining group size, deciding how long groups should stay together, and deciding when group learning is appropriate. Teaching social skills is…

A six-stage model of Individualized Education Program (IEP) development for students with disabilities in Oklahoma high schools includes: (1) student assessment, (2) IEP planning, (3) admission to area vocational/technical schools, (4) development of tentative instructional plans, (5) IEP meeting, and (6) IEP implementation. (DB)