Schools that employ evidence-based multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) frameworks, like Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), invest in core system, data, and practice features to support students, families, and educators. A strong framework enables settings to enhance and adjust their implementation to meet the needs of all…

Two years after the State of Illinois enacted an extensive non-exclusionary discipline reform in schools, 322 key discipline gatekeepers were surveyed about the extent and impact of the new state policy. The results showed that several core provisions of the reform had not been fully implemented or addressed through professional development.…

The foundation of the first international schools of the modern era well over a century ago, and their burgeoning growth over recent years, provides the context in this book for a series of personal perspectives written by some of those who have been involved centrally in their development. As the schools themselves have increased not only in…

This research is a qualitative, reflective case study regarding a cohort in the form of a district-university partnership between the Oak Park Schools in Oak Park, Michigan and the College of Education at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The initiators of the program envisioned a more successful urban school district by offering…

This study is a case study of the diffusion of a successful middle college program to an early college high school in a densely populated county in the upper Midwest. The data from interviews with 17 respondents who had been designers or implementers of either the first or the diffused model defined the essential elements of success of the first…

Contracting out public schools to private institutions is an instrument for reforming public education as it may facilitate academic innovation and improve student academic performance through higher school accountability and autonomy. The degree of autonomy that different providers have may vary substantially depending on the contractual and…

Over the past few years, charter schools have received dramatic popular support. An overview of charter schools, including the arguments of their supporters and critics, is presented in this report. The text presents assumptions about the charter movement and discusses their strengths and weaknesses through a research-based synthesis. Advocates of…

This handbook examines practices and issues involved in the implementation of multiage programs. Data were collected through site visits at four schools with reputations for excellent multiage programs; interviews with a representative sample of parents and teachers at each school; document analysis; a survey of multiage teachers, parents, and…

This report is a general guide for people planning a charter school. In September 1995 the Program on Reinventing Public Education, a collaborative effort of the University of Washington's Institute for Public Policy and Management and the RAND Institute for Education and Training, sponsored a workshop on charter school startup. This report…

This fastback document explores ways to develop alternative high-school programs to help at-risk students. It focuses on the "school within a school" model where the emphasis is on a caring school climate and smaller class sizes. The booklet offers a step-by-step guide for developing an alternative school, which begins with determining the need…

The New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC) was established in 1991 to fund the development of organizations that would create designs for innovative schools and help schools implement those designs. The plan deliberately develops expert organizations to help whole schools transform themselves. This handbook summarizes RAND's…

Local schools and school districts lack organized information on school effectiveness to select programs and practices to meet their specific program improvement and implementation needs. Critical program features, implementation and training requirements, program costs, program-delivery systems, program impacts, and a host of other relevant…

New York City is establishing a number of new small high schools. Implementation of this reform effort is described through the example of the Legacy School for Integrated Studies, a school committed to providing an intellectually responsible education that is sensitive to issues faced by people of color and the poor. (SLD)

This report examines the choices involved in implementing distance education technology. As colleges and faculties develop distance learning courses, complications arise concerning how to control cheating, how to assure that students follow rules, how faculty loads will be calculated, how students and faculty will be allocated, and whether…

Describes the experience of a conservative, suburban school system making the change from traditional classroom instruction to more developmentally appropriate practices. Discusses the planning and implementation process, focusing particularly on the issues of skills acquisition, assessment, staff development, and parent involvement. (TJQ)