Successful schools have a clearly defined vision for student success, usually measured by college and career readiness standards. They are able to articulate success indicators for student performance as well as success indicators for the staff performance needed to meet those student indicators. Successful schools are able to describe a theory of…

As early-career Extension educators challenged by societal, structural, agricultural, and fiscal trends, we designed a multiyear educational program to support the diverse needs of emerging specialty crop producers in northwest Michigan. This article presents outcomes of that program. We explore how Extension professionals can develop impactful…

This resource was prepared in response to a request for information from a Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) State about which RTT-ELC States are using the Pyramid Model for Supporting Social Emotional Competence in Infants and Young Children. The State also requested information about other projects States have designed to…

This resource is part of a series of reports about challenges facing statewide science assessments and innovative solutions states are enacting to meet those challenges. Deciding to implement a system of assessments is a critical step toward ensuring that all students are getting the high-quality science education they need--but it is also…

Response to Intervention (RtI) is a process that has shown to be advantageous in improving academic achievement. The purpose of this study was to examine if teachers in two elementary schools in a Detroit, Michigan, suburban school district felt that their schools were ready to implement RtI, and also to identify teachers' priorities to improve…

Home visiting is one tool used to prevent child abuse and improve child well-being by providing education and services in families' homes through parent education and connection to community resources. This toolkit provides state policymakers and advocates with strategies for extending and expanding access to state- or federally-funded home…

Defining what teachers need to know to teach algebra successfully is important for informing teacher preparation and professional development efforts. Based on prior research, analysis of video, interviews with teachers, and analysis of textbooks, we define categories of knowledge and practices of teaching for understanding and assessing teachers'…

Based on a review of state documents and interviews with state and local officials in six Midwest Region states, this qualitative study describes state education agency policy development and planning for response to intervention approaches to instruction. It also looks at the support provided to districts and schools implementing response to…

Based on a review of state documents and interviews with state and local officials in six Midwest Region states, this qualitative study describes state education agency policy development and planning for response to intervention approaches to instruction. It also looks at the support provided to districts and schools implementing response to …

The National Writing Project at Work (NWP) monograph series documents how the National Writing Project model is implemented and developed at local sites across the country. These monographs describe NWP work, which is often shared informally or in workshops. Richard Koch and Laura Roop present a model of standards-based professional development…

The aim of the Central Michigan University Alpena-Montmorency-Alcona Teaching American History (TAH) Project has been to forge a model of professional development that would not merely improve teachers' knowledge of events, people, and dates, but to go beyond this to strengthen the understanding of the nature and practice of historical thinking,…

Many school districts are acknowledging staff development's dismal record. Inservice programs traditionally operate on a deficit training model, promote awareness without classroom strategies, and are offered by traveling "experts." Teachers need time and opportunity to direct their own professional development program and "mess…

Compares the professional development programs developed by the Small Business Development Centers in Michigan and Florida. Looks at the staffing, needs assessment methods, program structure, training methods and materials, competency measurement methods, and program evaluation of the two programs. Provides a checklist for creating professional…

Describes a Learning Development Model developed by a Michigan school working to foster an evolving process of staff collaboration and curriculum integration. Supportive professional-development activities include staff-planned and -facilitated workshops, staff writing and sharing of learning activities, and local university partnerships requiring…

Describes statewide professional development programs in Michigan that were developed to train teachers in technology use. Discusses Teach for Tomorrow, which combines online learning with local facilitators and peer support networks; and the Great Lakes Education Network Best Practices project, which combines lesson plans from the Web with…