This is the Executive Summary for the report, "Transforming Central Office Practices for Equity, Coherence, and Continuous Improvement: Chicago Public Schools under the Leadership of Dr. Janice K. Jackson." This case study explores the strategic plan of Janice Jackson, CEO of the Chicago Public Schools, along with the central office…

Systems, structures, and practices perpetuate disparities because they reinforce barriers that sort and separate students based on assumed success or failure. When students are disadvantaged in this way, the implicit message is that their learning doesn't matter. The counterpoint to these discriminatory systems is an asset-based approach, which is…

This article describes a learning partnership between district or county leaders and school leaders to create a system of principal professional learning that came to life in principal learning communities across a district or multiple-district region. For more than a decade, Learning Forward has engaged with district-level leaders as learning…

If education leaders aspire to confront and undo the severe racial inequities that exist in so many of our schools and school systems, then they will have to create opportunities for teachers and staff to engage in productive discussions about questions that many of them will be reluctant to consider Given how complex and how deeply felt are…

Roughly 30 years ago, American educators stood at a crossroads, with a decision to make about the future of education. With their ears ringing of warnings that they were facing a "rising tide of mediocrity" and recognizing unacceptable gaps in achievement between disadvantaged students and others, educators set off down a path of reform…

This article identifies four distinct zones in which workplace problems can be addressed through education and training. These zones enable educators to address workplace learning more widely and broadly. Very often, problems arising in the workplace are dealt with through training in the classroom, but other options exist. The theoretical…

"Great teachers and school leaders hold the key to America's children getting a first-rate education, but we do a spotty job of preparing them." Citing these words of U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, Vivien Stewart plunges into a fascinating account of how top-performing countries are developing strong school leaders. While…

This report begins with conclusions drawn from a wide range of research, reports, and other sources that convey what superintendents say is driving their work. The focus first is on what they identify as the challenges and frustrations of the job and what they say are factors interfering with student progress. Then, discussion turns to the…

Education Funders Research Initiative (EdFunders), a project of Philanthropy New York, is supported by a group of diverse funding organizations that have pursued an array of education reform strategies. EdFunders have come together to engage New Yorkers and focus leaders on new research into how to best prepare students for college and…

Many universities, colleges, and independent schools face the reality of geographically expanding alumni bases, likely combined with constant or decreasing budgets for alumni activities. Well-intentioned colleagues understand the potential power of a geographically diverse alumni network but do not always grasp the time and complexity associated…

For many it's a dollars and cents issue; for others, it's a heritage or spiritual issue. In reality campus heritage is both a spiritual and a monetary/economic issue. Some say that heritage should reflect institutional values, tradition, academic stature, and the role graduates have played in society, and others cast aside tradition and pay…

System leaders are those headteachers who are willing to shoulder system-wide roles in order to support the improvement of other schools as well as their own. As such, system leadership is a new and emerging practice that embraces a variety of responsibilities that are developing either locally or within discrete national networks or programmes…

Often times, there is a lack of preparation provided for the new superintendent by universities and professional associations. Meanwhile, new school superintendents are so focused on campaigning that little time is spent on what it takes to succeed in the position. In this book the author lays the foundation with a systematic mindset, a strategic…

The author proposes an integrated systems approach to managing governmental organizations based on a job task analysis called Job Task Systems Management. Job task analysis is not merely a basis for training development, but also a foundation for all other aspects of the organization's management system. An application example is provided.…

The authors studied 50 organizations to find which have the most successful career development programs and why. The results are codified into 12 principles, including stay specific, tailor program to culture, build from a conceptual base, formalize, design multiple approaches, co-design and manage the project, ensure top management support, and…