To assist system administrators as they pursue their own teacher leadership initiatives, this profile from Leading Educators and the Aspen Institute details the steps Denver Public Schools (DPS) took to design and implement its Differentiated Roles pilot. Specifically, it examines the initiative's opportunities and challenges within the context of…

Studies of high-performing schools, where all students learn more than similar students in other schools, show common design elements. These elements are comprehensive, affecting the whole school, and include: (1) Clear mission guiding daily activities; (2) High, unyielding expectations that all students will learn; (3) Frequent monitoring of…

This resource document has been updated to help schools in their school improvement efforts. This second edition of the resource maintains the nine characteristics and definitions from the original 2003 document. It adds information from about 120 new research and professional references, as well as relevant Washington Office of Superintendent of…

This manual is designed to help schools make successful school reform a reality. It provides the background and perspectives necessary for a school constituency to understand the current climate of education reform in the United States and what is known about successful school reform. The manual also provides inquiry-based techniques for…

The Texas Successful Schools Study examined the educational practices, school characteristics, and educator characteristics that contributed to the success of seven high-performing elementary schools with high proportions of limited-English-proficient (LEP) and economically disadvantaged students. This technical manual further elaborates the…

This monograph describes a number of successful solutions that have been used in schools involved in school improvement planning. Problem-solving strategies used by schools across the United States to address various situations are described, in which each school focused on student achievement and teaching learning for all students. The practices,…

Research-based school improvement practices are examined in this brochure, which is designed to highlight school effectiveness findings of the past decade, stimulate examination of research-based practices in individual schools, and encourage educational cooperation. Twelve sections discuss school improvement strategies at the district, school,…

Comments on the research finding that trained support staff can relieve the teacher librarian of routine tasks, making the resource center more efficient and effective. Five doctoral dissertations are cited. (EA)

Most policymakers, charter school operators, and others immersed in the charter school movement since it began in the early 1990s have focused their attention primarily on charter schools, not on the public bodies that license these schools to operate. As the charter school movement has grown, there has been increasing recognition that effective…

School-based management and improvement, supported by parent and community involvement, offer the most promising route to lasting reform in the public schools. Following an extensive introduction (part I) outlining school-based management and improvement concepts, the effective schools connection, the Dade County (Florida) experience, and 10…

This book describes research-based characteristics and practices that have been identified as leading to improvements in student performance. It is an expanded version of a research summary, first published in 1984, and is supported by more than 1,400 research studies. It was originally developed for use in schools receiving training in the Onward…

This guide provides summaries and analyses of various measures related to school leadership and administrator skills, behavior styles, and characteristics. The guide aims to help schools, districts, and other educational organizations examine their leadership effectiveness. While principals are stressed, some information is provided about…

The role of teachers in bringing about educational improvement in the American schools is described in this guidebook. Based on a model of school improvement that incorporates several bodies of educational research, the central thesis is that teacher empowerment begins with teacher knowledge. Following the introduction, chapter 2 describes the…

Graduating more students prepared to meet the social, civic, and economic challenges of coming decades is a national priority. Indeed, institutional graduation rates are being scrutinized by state legislatures and by those in Congress drafting the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. Every college and university can improve its graduation…

The relationship between school funding and student achievement is not clear. Therefore, policymakers should concentrate more on how resources are distributed, rather than on how much money is available. They should also explore the importance of adequate resource levels and equitable distribution schemes. A sidebar outlines the characteristics of…