In education, the field of implementation science is a discipline dedicated to supporting educators' use of evidence-based practices (EPBs) to improve school and student outcomes. As highlighted in previous columns in this series, school teams must thoughtfully consider how EBPs align with the school/district core values and fit the local context…

The United States faces an unprecedented mental health crisis, with youth and young adults at the center. Even before the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, nearly 50 percent of college students reported at least one mental health concern. Without adequate mental health support, college students, including those at community colleges,…

This article is focused on identifying the current issues in elementary education in the United States. In each of these issues, elementary educators are at the crossroads looking for solutions and directions. Based on the review of literature, the authors pinpoint the upcoming challenges elementary school educators will be facing in the future.…

After providing technical assistance to the federal Smaller Learning Community Program grantees, the authors developed five lessons for successful programs: 1) A strong vision of improved instruction needs to drive high school reorganization; 2) A strong vision of improved instruction focuses on strengthening the instructional core; 3)…

Describes a district's reorganization of 2 K-5 schools into 1 for all K-2 grades and 1 for all 3-5 grades for economic reasons. The principal of the 3-5 facility views better focus and certain innovative initiatives (involving coverage of special topics, a whole-language reading program, and a sequential-research-skills approach) as advantages.…

A San Jose (California) school district's voucher experiment illustrates the difficulty of implementing organizational and structural innovation in an education system. Successful implementation of technology-mediated education requires identification of the critical problem, negotiated decision making, component integration, authority and role…

Evaluates a small New York school district's efforts to reorganize its two K-5 elementary schools into one K-2 primary grade school and one 3-5 intermediate school, focusing on student, staff, and parent reactions. Although the new arrangement created more focused schools, the intermediate principal misses the energy deriving from the Kindergarten…

Changing to a trimester 3 X 5 schedule at Westfield (Indiana) High School made time for more focused academic activity, individual learning opportunities, and teacher development activities. Parents, students, teachers, and administrators find the schedule highly effective; academic achievement, attendance, and graduation rates have improved. (MLH)

From time to time critics of the middle level publish works that suggest that our philosophy is too much "feeling good" and not enough academic substance. Confusing this debate is the current trend of districts (especially large urban ones) to reconfigure their schools to K-8 neighborhood schools. In this article the author takes a long look at…

The open school concept used as an alternative to more traditional forms of schooling in selected elementary and secondary schools in Austin, Texas, includes seven major dimensions: individualized instruction, continuous progress of students, team teaching, multiage and multigrade grouping, differentiated staffing, open space classrooms and…

Project SHAPE is a two-year intervention and enrichment program for underachieving and educationally disadvantaged ninth and tenth grade students in Toledo, Ohio. Operating through teacher empowerment; curriculum development; structural organization; and student, parent, and community involvement, SHAPE's goals are developing an academically…

To implement numerous educational reforms within the constraints of skyrocketing enrollment and limited financial resources, Utah has given technology a key role. Technology has already changed teaching and learning via satellite delivery systems, writing labs, distance learning, instructional television, and other innovations. Policies and…

Research has indicated that educators view class size as a factor in improving student learning. This publication summarizes findings about some recently implemented class-size initiatives. It highlights results from Tennessee's reduced class-size experiment of the 1980s; summarizes the efforts and results from other recent state-level initiatives…

Reports a project that used simulated master schedules as an alternative to grade-level, subject-matter, classroom-group organization of instruction in small schools. Describes a multigrade, multicourse learning center approach that decouples the course = class equation and allows small schools to offer a stronger educational program. (SB)

This four-document collection describes the implementation processes of dramatically improved literacy programs in elementary schools which are leading the move to restructure literacy education in the Northwest (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington). The first document in the collection, "Strategies for Improving School-Wide…