The heart and soul of any successful organization is outstanding leadership. In education, school divisions are always striving to increase school achievement and as such hold school leaders accountable for this growth. Leaders require explicit leadership skills. This article shares a proposal in which school leaders participate in direct literacy…

The passage of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) marked the beginning of a new development cycle for accountability systems. State leaders once again have an opportunity to redesign their accountability systems based on the provisions included in ESSA and to ensure that systems improve outcomes for all students. The correct identification of…

In at least 44 states across the country, students are logging in to learn at all times of the day and night--accessing courses they might otherwise be unable to take, interacting with students they might otherwise never know, and working with highly qualified teachers they otherwise could not access. In these and countless other ways, online…

The Effective Teaching and Supervision of Instruction program developed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is described. This program is based on Madeline Hunter's clinical theory of instruction. (MT)

This paper describes the development and validation of a school-accountability model. The model is based on the assumption that schools represent dynamic systems in which a change in one element will affect all other elements. The model's primary elements are educational input, processes, and outcomes. The paper examines various accountability…

The replication process assists schools of New York State in the implementation of one or more objectives of a nationally or state validated program that would result in the implementation of a more efficient or effective program in those schools. The guide includes a process overview, a reference guide, an adoption guide, a proposal guide, a…

The attitude and modeling behavior of the entire middle school staff is the most important factor in providing an effective school learning environment. Discusses program ingredients necessary to help staff members furnish authentic middle level education. Includes 15 references. (Author/MD)

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…

A school district's efforts to implement selected aspects of research on effective schools as part of a five-year plan for instructional improvement are summarized. The selection of goals, and development and implementation of school-level plans are described. Advantages and disadvantages of the school-level approach are discussed. (MT)

This document presents an overview of the design and implementation stages of the Spencerport (New York) More Effective Schools/Teaching Project. The first section lists nine reasons for the uniqueness of the Spencerport project, including district size, its racial and economic components, participant satisfaction, a set of clearly defined goals,…

Beginning with an analogy of today's schools as factories, this paper describes the conditions which make it both possible and imperative to transform schools. Examples are given of resources that may be used to support school-based changes, such as foundations, regional laboratories, professional associations, and universities. A model is offered…

Describes the implementation and design of the Professional Development Institute (PDI) of the District of Columbia schools. Describes conditions prior to the founding of PDI and analyzes responses of inside and outside political forces which affected project operations and outcomes. The PDI trains principals to run schools effectively in the…

Outcomes of the District Wide School Improvement Program (DWIP), a plan to improve Native education in Saskatchewan, are described in this paper. Initiated by the Prince Albert Tribal Council (PATC) and the Lac La Ronge Indian Band (LLRIB), the school improvement model is a community-based developmental model designed to sensitize schools to their…

The Urban Initiative of the New Jersey Department of Education commits large numbers of its staff to a variety of efforts to improve schooling in the State's urban areas. It also represents an effort to develop a programmatic response that is rooted in research to the problems of urban education. In broad outline, the initiative is a…

To help educators with accountability concerns, this guide provides a method for establishing and evaluating accountability systems in states, districts, and schools. Standards-based accountability refers to collecting and reporting information based on students' progress toward achieving established standards. To be useful, an accountability…