The "College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards" (NCSS, 2013) places inquiry at the center of good social studies teaching and learning. Instead of social studies courses that emphasize rote memorization through the use of textbooks and lecture-based instruction, the C3 Framework asks teachers to…

This article illustrates the infusion of self-determination approaches (e.g., futures planning) within a schoolwide context. Unfortunately, some students are not explicitly instructed by school staff to address their plans for the future. This may be a result of school professionals' feelings of inadequacy to address skill sets outside of…

This article examines how a small, regional comprehensive university located in a geographically isolated context reinvigorated its master's degree in reading. The process began with articulating a vision for the program that was centered in understanding the unique geographic context of the region. Coherent program goals were then developed to…

The Ashland University's superintendent licensure program had not been revised and updated for the last several years. With all of the educational reforms in the first part of this new millennium, there was a pressing need to redefine and develop the overall program and courses embedded in it. An action plan was set up to carry out several steps…

Over the course of six years, a diverse group of school districts and charter management organizations in California ran a substantial experiment in implementing the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) in elementary and middle grades. WestEd led an extensive evaluation of that effort, the California K-8 NGSS Early Implementers Initiative,…

Higher order thinking skills have been embedded into state teaching standards, including Standard 9 of the New Jersey Core Curriculum Content Standards (NJCCCS) for 21st Century Life and Careers. These standards aim to encourage problem solving, critical thinking, reasoning, and real-world application in order to prepare students for the workplace…

School site leaders historically have experienced high levels of burnout and turnover. Principals cite long work hours, increased responsibilities with local, state, and federal accountability, increased stress and low pay as a few of the reasons jobs are abandoned within the first five years. LEAD currently provides professional learning for…

Low achievement in reading is a concern in a suburban school in the southeastern part of Florida. In an attempt to combat this issue, the school's administration has focused on teaching disciplinary literacy in content area classes, specifically social studies. In addition, the state standards also require that social studies teachers meet the…

When the College, Career, and Civic Life (C3) Framework for Social Studies State Standards project began, there really was nowhere else to go but up. The project was up against great odds--a dearth of funding, a history of incivility amongst the disciplines within social studies, a knack for ending up in media battles over what should be taught in…

Beginning in January of 2010, the Carnegie Corporation of New York funded a two-step process to develop a new set of state developed science standards intended to prepare students for college and career readiness in science. These new internationally benchmarked science standards, the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) were completed in…

NGSS Early Implementers is a six-year initiative created to help eight California school districts and two charter management organizations, supported by WestEd's K-12 Alliance, implement the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS). Administrators need learning opportunities if they are to adequately understand the substantial shifts of the Next…

The following profiles address how the state departments of education are helping educators prepare for and implement their states' new college- and career-readiness standards and aligned assessments, through professional learning. SREB researchers examined each state's major professional development efforts around its new standards in order to…

Mission statements of Christian institutions of higher education often include the purpose of forming individuals to live out their Christian commitments in larger society. This article presents the case that including theater in Christian higher education prepares students to further God's kingdom in this world after graduation--whether or not…

The state of Washington is home to more than 566,000 children under the age of six (U.S. Census Bureau, 2017). About 306,000 of these children have all available parents in the workforce and, thus, potentially need child care (Child Care Aware of America, 2017). Like many states in recent years, Washington has committed public and private…

The National Writing Project (NWP) received an Investing in Innovation grant in 2012 designed to provide 7-10th grade teachers in high-poverty, low-achieving rural school districts with professional development. The goal of the NWP effort, the College, Career, and Community Writers Program (C3WP), was to enhance teachers' capacity to teach…