This brief by the Literacy Coaching Clearinghouse is about reaching for the stars--stories of vision and commitment from educators in small and large schools. Everyone knows of people who are held up as "visionaries" throughout history: Leonardo Da Vinci, Mahatma Gandhi, Jules Verne, Thomas Edison, Susan Anthony, or John Dewey, to name a few. The…

What constitutes quality in early childhood settings, and how can it best be measured with today's widely used tools and promising new approaches? Find authoritative answers in this book, a must-have for high-level administrators and policymakers as more and more states adopt early childhood Quality Rating and Improvement Systems. The most…

The U. S. is losing its competitive edge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Thomas Friedman warns that America is not producing enough young people in STEM fields that are essential for entrepreneurship and innovation in the 21st century (The World Is Flat: A Brief History of the Twenty-First Century, 2005). Blue ribbon…

This is a collection of four papers concerned with improvement of Chapter 1 programs in the northwestern United States. The first paper (Steve Murray) describes a program improvement support model presently in use. It summarizes the process of program adoption in five northwestern states and describes differences in state context that have…

Since the publication of McREL's "2003 Annual Report," McREL staff members wrote more than 100 published articles in practitioner and peer-reviewed journals describing what they know from four decades of research on effective schools as well as years of practical experience working to help educators raise student performance: that…

For students to compete in the 21st-century global economy, knowledge of and proficiency in mathematics are critical. Whether headed to college or to the workforce, today's high school graduates need solid mathematics skill. The National Mathematics Advisory Panel was created in 2006 and charged with reviewing the best available scientific…

This sourcebook synthesizes findings from studies on school improvement programs. The prefatory overview emphasizes key themes and issues addressed in the seven papers that comprise the body of the document, discusses the role of staff development, and examines the process of translating research into policy. The papers summarize the findings of…

The ten papers in this collection commissioned by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory take positions and speculate about particular obstacles which collaboratives and intermediaries face in working toward the improvement of educational practice and equity through regional approaches. The papers discuss (1) the essential characteristics…

What does it look like when a school uses data wisely? "Data Wise in Action", a new companion and sequel to the bestselling "Data Wise", tells the stories of eight very different schools following the Data Wise process of using assessment results to improve teaching and learning. "Data Wise in Action" highlights the…

This packet contains descriptions of a variety of campaigns conducted by agencies for organizations or clients, or directly by the organizations. They were selected for their broad range of purposes and methodologies. The packet contains descriptions of the following campaigns: a campaign designed to build the economy of Orlando, Florida; a…

In April 1993, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) conducted a survey of its members to update information gathered in 1991 about the existence of quality improvement programs and the use of quality improvement processes in research libraries. A total of 91 responses (76 percent) was received to the 13 questions of the survey. Fifteen (16…

This document includes presentation summaries and policy recommendations from the 2004 Tomas Rivera Policy Institute (TRPI) Education Conference: (1) The Present and Coming Crisis: Demography and Education (Dowell Myers and Estela Mara Bensimon); (2) A View from the Academic Community (Moderators: Jorge Haynes and Jamilah Moore; Presenters:…

This book examines the broader aspects of promoting children's learning and development through the Comer Process. The Comer Process, a schoolwide intervention formulated by James P. Comer, centers on healthy child development as the keystone to academic achievement and life success. The text focuses on the Yale School Development Program (SDP), a…

Educators and policymakers have accomplished much over the past decade, aided by parents and taxpayers. California has set a high bar for what all children are expected to learn, from kindergarten forward. Instructional materials and tests are now closely aligned, so that teachers know how to gauge their students' progress. And achievement growth…

This book seeks to summarize what is known about sources of racial and ethnic prejudice in the United States and to identify ways that individuals and organizations can act to reduce intolerance and discrimination. The volume's 17 chapters are organized into four parts. Part I, "The Changing Policy Context," contains: (1) "Schooling and Social…