When San Francisco implemented a new policy to improve graduation rates and college enrollment, district officials realized their work was only beginning. San Francisco Unified School District revamped its college-ready graduation policy in 2009, hoping to increase the likelihood that students would graduate with the necessary courses to go to a…

When state leaders and national partners in the development of the Next Generation Science Standards met to consider implementation strategies, states and school districts wanted to know which materials were aligned to the new standards. The answer from the developers was short but not sweet: You won't find much now, and it's going to…

As the Common Core State Standards Initiative moved from the development and adoption of the standards to their implementation, ASCD embarked on a multifaceted program to help educators understand and implement the new standards. With support from a $3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, ASCD has enacted a three-pronged…

When he was director of alternative schools and deputy superintendent of New York City's District Four in the 1970s and 1980s, Seymour Fliegel created a districtwide free choice plan and a nationally recognized network of 24 alternative concept schools. In this interview, Fliegel argues the merits of choice and suggests ways for schools to…

A study of school improvement found that successful implementation of new practices is occurring at a high rate and is due mainly to teachers' efforts. The development of teacher commitment after change implementation is important in the process. (MD)

Restructuring jelled for Winona, Minnesota, schools while staff struggled to meet two major tenets: (1) all students can succeed; and (2) schools control the conditions of success. Instituting site-based management and a vision statement was not enough. Steps were taken to communicate the vision, develop successful pilot projects, and empower…

Peer coaching promises to reduce teachers' isolation, create a professional and collegial school environment, and promote skill transfer from training to the workplace. To help peer coaching achieve these results, several guidelines are presented. Peer coaching programs need administrative support, adequate training, participant trust, and…

Describes the development of reciprocal teaching--an instructional procedure originally designed to improve poor readers' text comprehension--and its application in Springfield, Illinois, schools. Research is clustered into three types of studies: effectiveness, efficiency, and feasibility. Program implementation, evaluation, and success factors…

Some violence prevention programs do not work because they are poorly targeted, provide materials without implementation strategies, apply neighborhood methods to school settings, and project unrealistic notions about the social forces underlying violence. Schools cannot eliminate all conflict but should go beyond violence prevention to create a…

The 1998 Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration Program provides $120 million for Title I schools and an additional $25 million for all public schools. Almost 3,000 schools are receiving $50,000 each to implement schoolwide models listed and explained in this article. Challenges and funding tips are discussed. (Contains 13 references.) (MLH)

This article reviews and analyzes the findings of a national study on school improvement. It defines four relationships important to effective implementation and the implications for school change. (MD)

Of more importance than any lofty concept of the principal's leadership are crucial, mundane, support functions--which can be carried out by supervisors and teachers as well as by principals. (Author)

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…

The Michigan Education Assessment Program (MEAP) has developed both formal and informal reading assessments reflecting current reading theory. A test development committee created a MEAP blueprint of four elements: constructing meaning, knowledge about reading, attitudes and self-perceptions, and topic familiarity. Includes two references. (MLH)

Since 1990, when a Fort Meyers (Florida) school became the nation's first core-knowledge site, over 50 other schools have taken pioneering steps to teach this curriculum. Core-knowledge guidelines include school-community understanding, acceptance, and involvement; alignment of curriculum with local and state guidelines; and collaboration and…