This paper examines the options available to states to redefine their accountability systems as they begin to implement the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The new law provides the possibility that states can create more balanced systems of support and accountability focused on educating young people so they can become productive, engaged…

The article shows the experience of professional development over the course of a decade of one teacher's career nested against the backdrop of one reforming middle-school context in the USA. Through the use of four fine-grained narrative exemplars, the campus professional development trajectory is examined from the vantage point of Daryl Wilson,…

A university-school district partnership, Schools of Promise (SOP), was formed to improve elementary schools for all children through whole-school reform. This effort focused on the concepts of belonging and inclusion, positioning the needs of marginalized students at the center of the reform through a university-facilitated restructuring of…

This study expands on the work of Huerta "et al." (2008) by reexamining the relationship between professional development and teacher leadership using more comprehensive measures of each. By confirming Huerta "et al"'s (2008) finding that Advancement Via Individual Determination (AVID) professional development is a significant predictor of teacher…

Although data driven-decision making has been the mantra of school reform for the last 10 years, school leaders benefit from frequent discussions in how to engage teachers in the process. As a result, the purpose of this paper is to apply Reeves' (2004) framework concerning Antecedents of Excellence in creating a school culture that routinely uses…

Purpose: This article attempts to build a better understanding of the leadership necessary to create socially just schools for English language learners (ELLs) by addressing these questions: In what ways do principals create asset-based, collaborative, and inclusive learning opportunities and services for ELLs? What do varying approaches of these…

School systems in the United States have long been characterized as "loosely coupled systems," in which decisions and events occurring in one part of the system have little resonance elsewhere. Loose coupling has advantages in that classrooms are buffered from outside interference, but it also makes it difficult to bring about change.…

This article focuses on how the Success for All Foundation (SFAF)--the nonprofit intermediary organization that promotes Success for All--works with educators in schools to increase capacity for learning and instruction. Success for All is a comprehensive school reform model that primarily centers on early literacy intervention. Building on…

Background/Context: This is the first research study to examine the content basis of Payne's in-service teacher education program, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, though others who have reviewed the book have agreed with our analysis. The study took place within a policy context in which the federal government, with the passage of the No…

The Governor's Institutes of Vermont are summer programs for Vermont high school students with strong personal motivation and interest in Art, International Affairs, and Science and Technology. In summer of 1990, a new program, based on the concept that teachers teach better when they are learners as well as leaders and called the "Lead…

As preparation for restructuring in Memphis, the jurisdiction coordinator and design teams conducted pre-implementation professional development experiences. Describes teachers' perceptions of these efforts and initial reactions to their school's program choice. The 503 teachers surveyed enjoyed specific aspects of the training sessions and…

Several years' experience with the NEA School Renewal Network discloses six necessary conditions for successful interactive networking: encouragement of affinity group development, equal portions of "high touch" and "high tech," the availability of qualified facilitators, an empowering network structure, a distributed expertise…

Collective bargaining must be transformed and encapsulated so that more effective vehicles can be used to pursue professional and school-reform goals. Trust agreements, waivers, and a season for bargaining are options needing further exploration. A professional union should reform both its contract language and its attitudes. The adversarial model…

Although first-wave reform efforts focused on centralization, higher standards, expanded testing, and teacher shortcomings, second-wave efforts stressed decentralization, teacher empowerment, school-based management, and choice. A third wave recommends systemic restructuring reforms. This article examines evolving new images of schooling, school…

A national study sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education indicates that school-based reform is no guarantee of improved learning opportunities. Schools with the most promising reform efforts set attainable reform goals with long timelines; focus explicitly on particular aspects of curriculum while targeting related professional development…