Schools that are integrating the arts into literacy, math, and other core subjects are dispelling the notion that there's an either-or choice in education--either you focus on literacy and math or you provide a well-rounded curriculum in the arts and other subjects. Crayola grant-recipient schools are demonstrating that you can do both--and end up…

"What if?" might be the most powerful question in education. NAESP and Crayola challenge schools with that question every year in their Champion Creatively Alive Children grant competition. Schools are encouraged to ask questions such as: What if arts-infused learning thrived every day in schools? What if schools relied more on project-based…

Reform efforts require stakeholder support, but more importantly, a strong leader to see them through. In this article, the author addresses the importance of strong leadership and the role of principals in effecting change. He describes the success story of Harborside Elementary School in Chula Vista, California as one of a growing group of…

Five years ago, Hewetson Elementary School was rated one of the lowest performing schools in Nevada. Yet despite its many challenges, Hewetson was named an Exemplary Turn Around School for the 2009-2010 school year, the highest academic designation for Nevada schools. This success is the result of transforming the school from a low-achieving…

The term "turnaround schools" has become an increasingly important phrase in the education lexicon in recent years. Although it is sometimes used generically when talking about schools that have rapidly and significantly increased student achievement, it often is applied more narrowly to schools in which districts used a strategy of replacing…

This article features five schools (John P. Oldham Elementary, Norwood, Massachusetts; R. J. Richey Elementary, Burnet, Texas; Pittsburgh Carmalt Science and Technology Academy, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; John D. Shaw Elementary, Wasilla, Alaska; and Springville K-8, Portland Oregon) that offer five promising practices. From fourth graders learning…

Data use and decision-making--these two phrases have appeared together in probably hundreds of education articles and have been the topic of a host of presentations during the past decade. In addition, research studies have confirmed the importance of data-informed decision-making to school improvement. Thus, school leaders have found it makes…

As a Missouri school's experience shows, mastery learning and cooperative learning can produce more positive results when applied together than when used separately. An agenda for success depends on a strong mission statement, parent involvement, and teacher teams to develop corrective and enrichment activities. (five references) (MLH)

Compares 1960s and 1970s research findings positing a strong academic-achievement/socioeconomic-status correlation with 1980s school-effectiveness research and recent studies advocating whole language, cooperative learning, and multiage grouping. Since there's research to support numerous practices and beliefs, educators must resist fads, quick…