In recent years, arts education has become a focus of some school improvement efforts, with consistent evidence emerging that vibrant arts programs can improve factors commonly listed as goals in school improvement plans, including engagement, attendance, and school climate. Such models mainly make use of arts integration, an approach that marries…

The problem addressed in this study was that online training designers experience barriers when implementing evaluations to assess knowledge transfer after 3-6 months. This qualitative exploratory case study aimed to explore online training designers' experiences and perceptions regarding the barriers faced when working with project stakeholders…

Effective school leadership and ongoing teacher capacity-building are essential aspects of school reform and improving educational outcomes for students in developing countries. This paper examines a Timor-Leste curriculum reform and associated school leader capacity-building and the implementation processes for building sustainability, within the…

School leadership is a critical factor in school improvement. The Delaware Department of Education (DDOE) and Region 4 Comprehensive Center (R4CC) have strengthened school leadership through implementation of the Delaware Leadership Network and the Delaware Principal Supervisor Leadership Program. These two major efforts, collaboratively designed…

A leadership academy is a formal professional learning opportunity for current school leaders, focused on augmenting knowledge and skills, increasing specialization, and refreshing leadership practices. States interested in supporting leadership academies through federal or other funding sources can look to current models of leadership academies…

At a time when much attention is being paid to teachers' effectiveness, there is little regard for the effectiveness of their professional support. Although professional development facilitators are frequently involved in school improvement projects, little is known about the interventions they should carry out and the effectiveness of these…

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…

The passage of the 2015, Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), affords states funding for many new options to address the needs of learners. One of the prominent options is personalized learning (PL). This study sought to determine how states positioned PL in their state plans. This study used a qualitative research design to analyze state ESSA plans…

This article is a descriptive analysis of the local impact of a national school/university partnership programme in Scotland. Starting from a high-level report on improving teacher education, a series of recommendations was filtered through various stages and agencies until local providers (local authorities and higher education institutions) were…

The purpose of this paper is to describe how one university collaborated with local P-12 partners to create an Ed.D. program in Educational Leadership. This program's goal is to professionally develop aspiring district-level school leadership in concert with local P-12 partnership school districts. As a direct result of those partnerships, the…

The present study investigated relationships among technical assistance, school leadership quality, and multitiered system of support (MTSS) implementation. The findings indicated technical assistance improved school leadership quality, and improved leadership significantly mediated the relationship between technical assistance and MTSS…

This paper reviews data from 27 final reports of action research projects in the area of instructional coaching undertaken as part of Cycle 4 (2008-2010) of the Alberta Initiative for School Improvement (AISI). AISI was an Alberta government programme that provided funding to every school district to allow teachers to create site-based, action…

California's alternative education options for youth vulnerable to dropping out of school have been established at different historical points and for different student age and target populations. For purposes of this brief, "alternative school" is defined as belonging to one of six legislatively authorized types of public (non-charter)…

Moving schools up the performance slope takes energy, leverage, and the right research-based approaches. In 2010, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction launched an initiative to "Turn Around the Lowest Achieving Schools" (TALAS). The Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) partnered with the state education agency (SEA) to…

Because data access may be perceived by principals as overwhelming or irrelevant rather than helpful (Wayman, Spikes, & Volonnino, 2013), data access does not guarantee effective data use. The data-based decision making literature has largely focused on teacher use of data, considering less often data-based organizational improvements for the…