Books by education experts and speakers at national professional conferences have inspired many school leaders to initiate professional learning communities (PLCs). Sustaining them effectively to raise student achievement is another matter. How can one know whether a PLC is moving toward a desired outcome? Measuring effectiveness requires an…

School and district leaders are commonly faced with diverse student needs and interests that could be effectively addressed with a course that is not currently offered in local schools. Virtual schools have grown up over the past 15 years in different policy and budget ecosystems, but most online course programs can be classified in one of six…

The Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (McREL) works with administrators and teachers to build their skills in research-based ELL strategies that can be implemented in general education settings. This article discusses the five key elements that guide the work of the academies. These are: (1) Assemble a strong leadership team; (2)…

Reform-minded educators should examine business and medical models to construct a viable, research-based framework to validate proposed curricular programs before implementing them. Pursuing a reliable research base for math reform, several superintendents convinced the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement to let…

School districts have two basic routes to incorporate online courses: Develop their own online curriculum or buy into an existing virtual school program. Decision makers might consider six strategic questions before moving ahead with their plans to build their own online course offerings. These questions deal with sizing up of existing providers,…

Educational supervision must be tied to improving staff skills in several critical areas--planning, diagnosis, monitoring, evaluating, and modifying programs to meet individual students' needs. To address supervisors' training deficiencies in these areas, this article recommends a workable training model and outlines desirable supervisor…

Introduction of national curriculum in 1988 has required British elementary teachers to teach and assess range of subjects with little specialist assistance and virtually no planning time during the school day. Compared to one New Hampshire school, English schools lack assistance for special needs students and have less extensive parental…