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…

Even though equity has become a hot topic, the pathway to making it a reality has not necessarily become clear. The national agenda on race, racial equity, and dealing with COVID-19 has pushed the challenge of equity to the front and center for schools. This pressurized moment in history has raised important questions: (1) What are the steps to an…

Research highlights the importance of individualized approaches and coaching to ongoing professional learning (Darling-Hammond, Wei, Andree, Richardson, & Orphanos, 2009). The purpose of this article is to describe an initiative that set out to help all students become proficient readers by 3rd grade. It demonstrates how coaching can support…

In the last 30 years, teaching centers in American colleges and universities have moved from the margins of their institutions to the mainstream. Their roles have expanded exponentially: To their core task of providing instructional support for individuals, they have added cross-campus initiatives to promote pedagogical innovation, curriculum…

In this paper, academic developers from universities in three countries explore underlying assumptions about what we as developers do and why we do it in relation to evaluating development programs. Through addressing three questions, key ideas emerge that highlight what is often overlooked in day-to-day practice: the fact that academic…

From 1998 to 2008, the Dallas County Community College District (DCCCD) offered its employees a variety of options for formation, a type of reflective practice. The district encompasses 10 locations, seven of them independently accredited colleges. Formation is based primarily on Parker Palmer's model for Circles of Trust as described in "A…

Purpose: Reformers, policymakers, and researchers have given considerable attention to organizational capacity in schools, especially in those schools that perpetuate or exacerbate achievement gaps among diverse student groups and reproduce social inequalities. There is an emerging consensus about key dimensions of school capacity and how they can…

In this article, the author explores the promising practices of Audrey Union (all names in this article are pseudonyms), a white principal of Integration Middle School (IMS), which served nearly 400 students in sixth through ninth grades. Approximately 40% of the students were of color and a similar percentage qualified for free and reduced lunch.…

Professional development in Rockwood School District, a suburban school district outside St. Louis, Missouri, in 1997 was focused on individual teacher development rather than organizational development. Staff learning activities were fragmented. Teachers participated in a variety of unrelated topics the district offered from month to month. An…

Closing the achievement gap in one of the most diverse school systems in the nation-- one in which more than 160 different nationalities are represented, 120 different languages are spoken and more than 26 percent of the students are living below poverty level-- is not a mission for the weak-hearted. It requires vision, perseverance and a…

The way public school educators respond to emerging information technologies will be the defining event for public education over the next decade. This author, however, worries about whether public schools have the capacity to take advantage of the revolution going on around them--a revolution that is affecting not only the way students learn, but…

This paper defines faculty development (FD), organization development (OD), and instructional development (ID), and discusses the interrelationships between them in effecting change in an institution of higher education. FD and OD provide the individual and organizational readiness necessary for adoption of an innovation, while ID focuses on the…

Provides a framework for enhancing personal and organizational growth through staff development programs. Nineteen guidelines for staff developers planning such programs for effective schools are presented. These guidelines are based on a sound understanding of organization development and factors that enhance school change. (SM)

Assesses the range of variation among the predominant types of professional development programs for principals in the 1980s. Highlights divergent trends in organizational processes and program content that characterize these programs, and identifies their varying potential for reaching competing policy goals. (JB)

Sir Sandford Fleming College in Ontario, Canada is in the process of transforming itself from a teaching-based college to a student-centered organization. Faculty-led teams are a critical element in this transformation. With active support from its faculty union, Fleming has reduced its administrative ranks by one-third and created a host of teams…