This dissertation in practice seeks to design an approach to inclusive programming based upon a human capabilities approach to supporting struggling learners, including those who are not receiving special education services. The study examines the evolution of special education law and inclusive programming to highlight the ongoing struggle to…

Underserved schools often have fewer resources and less capacity to rigorously implement improvement strategies. As a result, the districts and schools that most need support programs are often least likely to adopt and implement them successfully--a phenomenon that we call the "needs paradox." To address the needs paradox, we created…

In 2004-05, the School District of Philadelphia (SDP) began a groundbreaking partnership with the Eli Broad Foundation to develop the Academy for Leadership in Philadelphia Schools (ALPS), one of several Broad-funded, alternative principal development programs initiated across the country. The ALPS effort was designed to respond to two challenges:…

The social nature of language learning and development has been widely acknowledged, as has the importance of family relationships in language learning processes. The role that the first language plays in the literacy development of English language learners (ELLs) and their families is irrefutable. Advocates of family literacy programs have…

Background/Context: As accountability pressures have mounted toward ever-higher targets under the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, low-achieving schools have sought new tools for raising achievement. The association between parent involvement and student achievement is well established, though the association is an indirect relationship mediated…

Describes the five language programs at a Toronto high school. (RL)

School choice is growing, due to growth of charter schools, private voucher programs, and No Child Left Behind requirements that school districts offer options to children in low-performing schools. Growth can bring dangers if choice is implemented carelessly. Recent research on choice shows that program design and implementation matter: the…

There is an urgent need for the development of learning environments that are especially suited to disadvantaged minority youth. Much of that which needs altering is the climate or atmosphere within existing schools. Determining the nature of this learning environment is a continuing problem in educational research. This document reports a study…

This study attempted to answer six questions: (1) What are the differences between the aptitudes of students aged 15.5 to 18.5 confined to the Industrial School as established by the General Aptitude Test Battery (GATB), (2) What are the differences as compared to the norms established by the California Achievement Test (CAT), (3) What are the…

This conference reaction paper tracks some of the common themes that run through five papers presented at the same conference at the session on curricular and instructional issues in compensatory education with special reference to Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981. The reaction paper attempts to interpret the…

The papers presented at this conference review current research on effective educational practices for low-achieving students and identify those that might be applied to programs funded under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 (the successor legislation to Title 1 of the Elementary Secondary Education Act of…

The aim of this paper is to identify the mechanisms that relate participation in programs established by Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act of 1981 to student achievement. It focuses on what happens to students in Chapter 1 programs and how their experiences affect their growth in academic achievement. The paper begins…

This report focuses on the organization of guidance provision through a Personal Guidance Base for low achievers aged 16 to 18. An introduction outlines the background to the concept of a local Personal Guidance Base to which young people can turn as they move from school to adult and working life, and identifies its main elements. Opportunities…

A TUCSON EDUCATIONAL PROJECT, CALLED COVERT (CHILDREN OFFERED VITAL EDUCATIONAL RETRAINING AND THERAPY), HAS BEEN PROPOSED TO IMPROVE THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY OF EMOTIONALLY DISTURBED CHILDREN. SURVEYS INDICATE THAT FROM 5 TO 14 PERCENT OF TUCSON'S SCHOOL CHILDREN HAVE EMOTIONAL-BEHAVIORAL PROBLEMS WHICH INTERFERE WITH THEIR LEARNING…

Over the past decade there has been increased pressure in the public discourse for accountability in educational outcomes. There has been a growing sense that ESL students are not being well served by the delivery of supports meant to facilitate their development of English language acquisition and enable them to participate with their classmates…