Information on early childhood learning and increasing demand for child care services have placed a spotlight on the need to improve the quality of early education and care in the United States. This report focuses on five factors tied to the success of military efforts to develop an exemplary model of quality and affordable care in the Military…

Based on the view that the first years of school continue an educational process that began at birth, this report presents the first comprehensive look at learning opportunities for young children in Pennsylvania. The report describes programs in Pennsylvania for children from birth through 8 years of age, providing details on funding,…

Discusses the reasons for mediocre child care programs and how programs could be improved by examining the relationship between high quality care for children and the organizational climate for adults. Shows how research findings are often not put into practice. Outlines Model Work Standards, standards that have the potential to improve programs…

Despite small steps of progress, issues of legitimacy and worth are still barriers inhibiting systemic change in physical education. Even with the call for reform in physical education (Rink, 1993), few comprehensive school reform efforts have included physical education, for at least two reasons. First, physical education is not considered a core…

Educators have long grappled with the challenge presented by chronically underperforming schools. Environments that consistently fail to prepare students for higher levels of education threaten opportunities for high school graduation, postsecondary education, and career success. The U.S. Department of Education reinforced the urgency of reversing…

The Obama administration has offered states the chance to waive some requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act. States are required, however, to make specific reforms in exchange for increased flexibility. The administration has been clear it wants states to engage in "ambitious but achievable" reforms rather than merely asking for a pass from…

Blogs in classrooms represent a new approach to teaching writing that is developing and changing daily. Although some scholarly literature explores the use of blogs in educational settings, the blogs are primarily being used at the secondary and college levels. The purpose of this qualitative case study research was to explore how blogging…

To solve two enduring problems in education--unacceptably large variation in learning opportunities for students across classrooms and little continuing improvement in the quality of instruction--the authors propose a system that centers on the creation of shared instructional products that guide classroom teaching. By examining systems outside…

The "New Century High Schools Initiative" is a program designed to improve large, under-performing high schools by transforming them into small schools with links to community organizations. "New Century High Schools" each have about 400 students; the small size is intended to foster strong relationships between students and…

Spanish River High School is one of 40 U.S. History Schools and 21 affiliates around the country that get resources and academic support from the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History. The schools require participating students to take a U.S. history course each year, in addition to any requisites in world history and other subjects. The…

The purpose of this paper is to share the findings of a highly generalizable investigative feasibility project, whose goal is to enhance the teaching ability of current higher education faculty members. The mission of the project was to introduce a new doctoral degree on Global Education and Leadership (GEL) geared toward a ubiquitous, broad…

The No Child Left Behind law fundamentally changed the expectations and data that schools should have for their English language learner students. The landmark 1974 Lau v. Nichols Supreme Court case concluded that students who speak English as a second language have a right to a "meaningful education." But No Child Left Behind--a…

Across the country, states and districts are designing principal evaluation systems as a means of improving leadership, learning, and school performance. Principal evaluation systems hold potential for supporting leaders' learning and sense of accountability for instructional excellence and student performance. Principal evaluation is also an…

As part of the evaluation of the Strategic School Funding for Results (SSFR) project, American Institutes for Research (AIR) conducted surveys of principals, teachers, and members of School Site Councils (SSCs) to gather information on the attitudes and perspectives regarding the implementation of key components of the SSFR model in Twin Rivers…

In 2009 the Obama administration announced a focused commitment to turn around 5,000 of the United States' chronically lowest-performing public schools as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). This commitment came with $3 billion in funding for the School Improvement Grant program, or SIG, along with new guidelines to ensure…