For more than a century, teachers in Tennessee's Loudon County School District have come together before the start of the school year for a professional development day. For the first time this year, professional learning in the district will be based at each individual school -- a result of the district's use of a new rubric, which states that…

IMPACT, Washington, D.C.'s controversial evaluation system, sets clear expectations for instruction and holds teachers to well-defined standards of performance. Now into its third year, the program appears to be meeting its goals of rewarding effective teachers and eliminating educators it considers incompetent. And it has given the public reason…

The New Jersey Department of Education supports all districts with a tool kit of valuable resources for planning and creating collaborative learning structures that focus on getting results for all students. This tool kit was the basis for the creation of Learning Forward's "Becoming a Learning School" (2009). The tool kit helps…

Consider the challenges facing one district: 27,000 students in 44 elementary schools in a southern California border district. Most students--72%--are classified as English language learners (ELL) as measured by the California English Language Development Test (CELDT). Although 65% of the students are Hispanic/Latino and speak Spanish as a first…

Practical strategies for school administrators will help ensure that coaches are able to work most effectively.

Two key insights guide Rhode Island's work to support principals. First, leaders at all experience levels need support from a network of colleagues. Second, leaders grow when they work with colleagues of diverse experience levels. That led Rhode Island to create a continuum of support that enables principals to address their learning needs through…

Identifies areas of knowledge principals need to guide staff development, focusing on qualities of principal-staff developers, and the principalship (programs to help train staff developers, and delegation of staff development roles). Recommendations include establishing district staff development programs and intervention for principals having…

Traditionally, the professional growth and development of school administrators has been left up to the individual. A model for alternative administrator training has five basic operational criteria: collaboration; peer leadership; a sound cognitive base; experiential activities; and an ongoing support system. (JN)

The Simmons College Institute for Women in Educational Administration provides women with specific organizational and personal skills for professional advancement in school administration. Outcomes resulting from the program include: new skills in technical areas; knowledge of school organization; and an increased ability to assess personal goals.…