Our classrooms haven't kept pace with innovation. The Ford Model T represented breakthrough technology in its day--more than 100 years ago--but it wouldn't serve us well today. Likewise, our traditional classroom model from the same era doesn't work well for far too many students and teachers. In fact, as a result of this outdated model, it is…

School innovation expert John B. Nash demonstrates how design thinking can be adapted successfully by busy school leaders seeking student-centered solutions to a range of challenges. Based on a decade of work teaching school leaders nationally and internationally, "Design Thinking in Schools" shows how leaders can adopt a design thinking…

The purpose of this study was to understand a school-based mentoring model that uses school staff as adult mentors. This study presents existing literature on school-based mentoring models along with a case study of one teen parent high school. The report also includes step-by-step guidance for implementation. At the case study school, all school…

Facing questions about the status and legitimacy of business schools, many of the world's leading institutions are now experimenting with new business models. In "The Business School of the Future," former president of International Institute for Management Development (IMD), Peter Lorange reveals how the era of virtual technology, and…

The world needs great individual educational changemakers capable of identifying problems and creating bold, scalable solutions. But the world also needs Dream Teams--groups of talented administrators, teachers, staff, students, and community members who are passionate about making things better for kids, believe that school-based change is the…

This book presents an innovative model for strengthening and developing executive function in any student, including those with attention, memory, organization, planning, inhibition, initiative, and flexibility difficulties. It provides guidance on how to support each student's evolving executive function, and how to encourage those who are ready…

Securing appropriate facilities can be a significant challenge for those intending to open a charter school. Although, like all public schools, charter schools receive per-pupil dollars from the state, they generally receive considerably less. Additionally, because traditional public schools rely on their district to provide their school…

This guide is designed to help state leaders identify which comprehensive school-reform models have been adopted throughout the United States. It provides information on states being targeted by developers and the capacity of each design team. The guide is divided into 4 sections: Developers in States; Developers' Capacity; List of Developers; and…

This booklet is designed to offer state and district policymakers a thoughtful set of questions to ask about school reform models and the organizations that develop them. The questions follow the criteria for schoolwide reform as spelled out in the federal legislation. Policymakers are encouraged to consider these questions as they work with…

This booklet offers state, district, and school leaders guidance both in understanding comprehensive school reform and in identifying effective comprehensive school-reform programs and the organizations that develop and help implement them. It focuses on the new federal program known as the Comprehensive School Reform Development (CSRD) Project, a…

This paper on staff development proposes one dimension of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM), Stages of Concern, as a diagnostic tool for use by counselors, administrators, staff developers and other change facilitators who are responsible for the timing and delivery of staff development experiences. A rationale for staff development, the…

The concept of Stages of Concern about the Innovation (SoC) deals with the psychological orientation of both users and nonusers toward an innovation. This article describes the SoC concept and highlights illustrative research findings. Interventions hypothesized as potentially appropriate and implications for the change process are discussed.…

New American Schools (NAS) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that was founded by business leaders who wanted to improve the quality of public education. To explain how this organization works, an overview of its strategies for helping schools is provided here. The guide is intended for education leaders, policy makers, parents, and…

A "New American High School" is a place that prepares students for a global, knowledge-based economy, helping them to be effective citizens, parents, and workers. Case histories are provided for 10 high schools that received awards for instructional innovation. These schools were chosen by the United States Department of Education and…

Current demands to prepare students for the 21st century represent a dramatic departure from the mission for which the American system of public education was originally designed. To help educators with these changes, a conceptual framework of strategies in planning for and bringing out essential shifts in philosophy is presented here. The text…