Can four-day school weeks help districts save money? How do districts overcome the barriers of moving to a four-day week? What is the effect of a four-day week on students, staff and the community? This paper enumerates the benefits for students and teachers of four-day school weeks. Recommendations for implementation of a four-day week are also…

More and more high schools are implementing Advisory programs for a variety of reasons: personalization, academics & study skills, life success skills, self-knowledge, addressing the concern about students feeling "lost" in the high school setting, first line of contact for the parents, and portfolios. But finding a way to schedule advisory can…

Assessment "for" learning is not the same as assessment "of" learning. Assessment of learning is assessment for accountability purposes, to determine a student's level of performance on a specific task or at the conclusion of a unit of teaching and learning. The information gained from this kind of assessment is often used in reporting. Assessment…

Teaming is certainly being pointed to as a strategy to improve learning for at risk students. Whether teaming is actually effective at improving student achievement seems to have mixed findings. Some studies find no significant differences for reading, math, science, and social studies achievement, where others state "evidence abounds suggesting…

Best practice in teaching American History is a two-pronged approach: a high quality curriculum with highly engaging instruction. Muir (2001) showed that good learning experiences: create strong relationships; involve hands-on, active work; adjust for differences in learning styles; make learning interesting; allow students choices; make…

There is a lot written about eligibility requirements, but almost all of it is about NCAA first year eligibility requirements and their impact on high schools. Much less is written about high school eligibility requirements and their impact on student performance. Coaches, parents, and educators offer many reasons for there to be lax or no…

Many districts are struggling with the problem of administrator retention. Hoffman (2004) identifies some of the reasons for this: (1) Increased accountability expectations; (2) Diminished or static levels of resources to support reform efforts; (3) Greater administrator vulnerability to sanctions; (4) The complex demands of government and the…

Catholic, Protestant, and Jewish parochial schools have always had religious studies as part of their curriculum, but there has been the question about whether public schools can also. "In 1962 two U.S. Supreme Court cases (Abington School District vs. Schempp and Engle vs. Vitale) prohibited the practice of Bible reading in public schools.…

Principals and teachers have long thought that student tardiness was a serious problem. In one study from the 1990s, 8-12% of students were absent each day, and more than 40% of teachers found tardiness to be a significant problem. In fact, it is considered so serious that a school's response can go to extremes. The question, of course, is not…

What are the effects of block scheduling? Results of transitioning from traditional to block scheduling are mixed. Some studies indicate no change in achievement results, nor change in teachers' opinions about instructional strategies. Other studies show that block scheduling doesn't work well for Advanced Placement or Music courses, that "hard to…

The "achievement gap" is a matter of race and class. Across the U.S., a gap in academic achievement persists between minority and disadvantaged students and their white counterparts. This is one of the most pressing education-policy challenges that states currently face. For decades, policymakers, researchers, and school reformers have…