Concerned with how new schooling structures, once implemented, will remain in place, this paper reviews findings of the International School Improvement Project (ISIP) about institutionalization and suggests their application to educational restructuring results. According to the ISIP study, indicators of complete institutionalization include…

Although policymakers and academics tend to overlook the behind-the-scenes role that district human resources (HR) departments play in education, the HR office's effect is far from small. HR departments determine whether qualified teacher candidates make it to the classroom, or slip through the cracks. They can help principals find teachers who…

Interest in decentralized decisionmaking for schools (DDS) is on the rise. With state and federal accountability systems placing pressure on school-level leaders to improve student performance, increasing attention is being paid to the question of how to help principals do their job more effectively. "Business as usual" in American…

This Research Brief provides a summary of the following study: Lachat, M. A., & Smith, S. (2005, July). Practices that support data use in urban high schools. "Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk," 10(3), 333-349. The Brief describes the methodology, suggestions for school improvement, and challenges identified in the…

This is the sixth in a series of issue briefs to be written for The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement during 2006. The impact of organizational culture on student achievement is discussed in this issue brief. Gaining a deep understanding of what a strong, positive organizational culture looks like and how it works can help…

The proliferation of high-quality independent charter schools is constrained by the shortage of founders committed to evidence-based school designs and possessing the broad-ranging skills to make good on their audacious plans. The time and energies of such exceptional leaders are deployed over years in building schools that rarely reach more than…

This booklet highlights instructive work and experiences from four demonstration charter schools in Chicago that have developed unique, mission-based accountability measures for their performance contracts with the Chicago School Reform Board of Trustees. These schools developed their new accountability measures between June 1998 and January 2000.…

This guide presents practical applications from a research study about the processes that schools use to initiate and sustain reforms. It examines the history of 10 elementary schools in high-poverty settings, including details of behavioral and attitudinal changes. Ten capacities were associated with the stages of successful reform. The…

In order to fulfill its mission of middle-grades education reform, the Mid South Middle Start initiative works with schools, organizations, and institutions to improve the social and academic outcomes of students aged 10-14. A vital element of this endeavor is the creation of linkages by the core group of organizational partners with relevant…

This book is a layman's guide to 10 of the best known school designs being implemented in the United States today. It is designed for "consumers" who must evaluate which, if any, of these models they may want to pursue. The designs examined are: (1) Accelerated Schools; (2) America's Choice; (3) the Coalition of Essential Schools; (4)…

This paper describes the experiences of five high schools in Boston, Massachusetts, a district with a successful history of career pathways and academies that, in the last 3 years, has encouraged schools to restructure entirely into smaller learning communities. The schools work to benchmark curriculum to high standards, ensure effective…

This paper offers an analysis of the "theories of action" embedded in reconstitution reforms. Reconstitution is a reform strategy in which all, or a large percentage, of a school's incumbent administrators and teachers are replaced with educators presumed to be more capable and committed. The report is based on evidence acquired from a…

This book is a practical resource to help teachers make schools "intelligent organizations" that can synthesize different kinds of knowledge, experience, and ideas to improve schools. Chapters set forth key messages on school effectiveness, school improvement, teaching, and learning. The chapters are: (1) "Improving the Effectiveness of Schools";…

This paper examines Breaking Ranks, a proposal for school reform and restructuring intended to improve the effectiveness of America's high schools. The review drew upon memo writing, a personal interview with an administrator utilizing the Breaking Ranks blueprint, a review of periodicals and books on Breaking Ranks and on school restructuring, a…

This handbook is designed to help school staff members and others broaden their view of assessment and put assessment into the broader context of school restructuring while keeping the focus on students. The handbook is arranged in sections, each dealing with a separate topic. Each section contains a number of papers by different authors that…