Research and Best Practices
The largest in-depth study of school leadership to date, this report gathers and analyzes quantitative data confirming that education leadership has a strong impact on student achievement, as measured by student test scores. The study shows that leadership makes its mark largely by strengthening a school’s “professional community” – an environment where teachers work together to improve classroom instruction. It also finds that rapid turnover of principals reduces student achievement. In addition, the study shows that although the.....
Professional Development Resources
Learning Port
Across states, national organizations and technical assistance investments, an extensive amount of professional development material is available. This library of over 700 professional development resources provides local educators with easy access to an array of resources that can be used or customized to meet their needs.
Principal and Teacher Evaluation: A Compilation of Information and Resources for Schools and Districts Developing Educator Evaluation Tools
This document lists information and resources relating to principal and teacher evaluation that districts may find helpful as they develop tools to review a teacher's or principal’s performance. ACC has identified a number of tools, some of which provide examples that include student data in the evaluation process, which are research-based and offer promise as an effective practice. However, any resource’s inclusion or omission from this list does not constitute ACC’s endorsement or lack of endorsement.
Alaska Professional Educational Associations/Organizations relating to Social Studies
This resource links to EED's Curriculum Frameworks Project. Because this page lists a number of Alaska's social science professional organizations and related professional development providers in Alaska, it may be helpful for social science educators looking for professional development opportunities.
Toolkit for Implementing the School Improvement Grant (SIG) - Transformation Model (CII)
This document is intended for use after the LEA has determined that the Transformation Model is the best fit for the school. The purposes of this document are to:
• outline action items involved in implementing the School Improvement Grant (SIG) Transformation Model and
• provide tools and resources to help districts and school implement the Transformation Model.
Guide to Teacher Evaluation Products
Accurately measuring a teacher's effectiveness is a complex and difficult task. Like building a puzzle, developing a teacher evaluation system requires multiple pieces that must be placed together in a purposeful way to create a holistic evaluation system.
This guide can be used by states and districts to explore various evaluation methods and tools that represent the "puzzle pieces" of an evaluation system.
The guide includes detailed descriptions of more than 75 teacher evaluation tools that are currently implemented and tested in.....
School turnaround videos that illustrate different models for SIG grants w/Letter from USDOE official
Colleagues:
Last week, the press shop issued a release publicizing the “suite” of school turnaround videos OCO has produced to better educate and inform the public about the Title I School Improvement Grant Program and further illustrate and explain the different models districts may choose to implement with SIG grant funds. In addition to the marketing we have done to the broadcast stations and education outlets in our ed.tv network (the response has been very strong for dvds and digital downloads), we would appreciate you spreading.....
Early Literacy Learning - Guides for Practitioners
These guides can be used by early childhood educators, child care providers, early interventionists, and other early childhood practitioners for promoting infants’, toddlers’, and preschoolers’ literacy learning using interest-based and highly engaging activities.
Professional Learning for Culturally Responsive Teaching from NCCRESt
Understanding the need to explore
personal and professional identities as
well as the necessity of responding to
the strengths and needs that students
from all cultural backgrounds bring
to classrooms, The Equity Alliance at
ASU has generated a set of principles
to guide culturally responsive professional
learning. The principles were
influenced by research from the Center
for Research on Education, Diversity,
and Excellence (CREDE), the research
of McLaughlin and Talbert (2006) with
teacher learning communities around
the.....
Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy and Learning - Center for Education, Diversity and Excellence (CREDE)
The Five Standards for Effective Pedagogy and Learning were established through CREDE research, and through an extensive analysis of the research and development literature in education and diversity. The Standards represent recommendations on which the literature is in agreement, across all cultural, racial, and linguistic groups in the United States, all age levels, and all subject matters. Thus, they express the principles of effective pedagogy for all students. Even for mainstream students, the Standards describe the ideal conditions for.....
Intervention Report on three Voyager Reading Programs by the What Works Clearinghouse
What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) is releasing an Intervention Report on three Voyager Reading Programs. The three programs are Voyager Passport, a supplemental reading intervention system for students in grades K-5, Voyager Passport Reading Journeys, a reading intervention program designed for adolescents who struggle with reading, and Voyager Universal Literacy System, a K-3 reading program. The Clearinghouse examined the research on these Voyager reading programs for students with learning disabilities and identified 44 studies that were.....
WWC Intervention Report on the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) Program
WWC Intervention Report on the Lindamood Phoneme Sequencing (LiPS) program that is designed to teach students the skills they need to decode words and to identify individual sounds and blends in words. The Clearinghouse reviewed 31 studies that investigated the effects of LiPS on students with learning disabilities. One study that falls within the scope of the Students with Learning Disabilities review protocol meets What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) evidence standards. Based on this study, the WWC found LiPS to have potentially positive.....
Turnaround Competencies for Teachers and Leaders and Toolkits for Selecting Turnaround Leaders and Teachers
School turnaround is possible, but it takes a concerted effort with daring leadership at the helm and persistent, achievement-oriented collaboration among staff. For turnaround efforts to succeed, nothing is more important than making sure that the leaders and teachers who are selected for these challenging roles have the capacity and the will to make a turnaround happen.
The four resources in the Competencies for Turnaround Success Series are designed to help district officials identify and hire the right leaders and teachers for this.....
Quality School Leadership Identification (QSL-ID): Your Link to Strong School Leaders (Resource for SIG applicants)
High-performing and dramatically improving schools are led by strong principals. District staff know the importance of hiring and supporting quality school principals but are often left on their own to define a hiring process and create hiring tools.
In response to this challenge, Learning Point Associates offers Quality School Leadership Identification (QSL-ID), a standardized hiring procedure built from research-based tools that hiring committees can use to reach consensus when selecting a new school principal.
QSL-ID consists of the.....
Research base of individual learning plans at the high school level and its impact on student outcomes
The information provided addresses the origins and effectiveness of Individual Learning Plans (ILP) for all high school students. Although the use of ILPs may build upon the well established Individual Education Plan (IEP) for students with learning disabilities, it is not explicitly linked to that practice in the resources reviewed. (From the National High School Center)
Turnaround Strategies and Models for High Schools
(From the National High School Center) This resource is a synthesis of the literature on high school improvement organized by key elements of the turnaround/transformation models, as defined by the federal Title I School Improvement Grant regulations. The synthesis has been organized into the following three sections:
* Improving High Schools Overview/Background
o The High School Context
o Supporting Low Performing Schools: Lessons Learned
o Implications of the Lessons for High School Turnaround
*.....
School Turnaround Teachers: Competencies for Success
This guide aims to help schools attempting turnarounds understand the underlying characteristics of teachers likely to succeed in this unique context, based on the best available research to date. Interestingly, the characteristics identified by early research on star teachers in high-poverty schools are remarkably similar to the competencies exhibited by turnaround leaders across sectors. This is not surprising given the similarities of the roles, explained further within this guide. As more schools attempt turnarounds, increasingly accurate,.....
Successful School Turnarounds Seven Steps For District Leaders
Turnarounds are one of the only proven strategies for quickly achieving success in very low-performing organizations. But they can be difficult and controversial. School board members and district leaders who commit to this strategy must prioritize student learning needs over custom, routine, and established relationships. They must view turnarounds not as a one-time solution but part of a sustained effort. This Issue Brief outlines successful strategies for turnarounds as well as listing qualities of a "turnaround principal."
Key Insights from Principals Making Breakthrough Gains
Lessons learned from school leaders making breakthrough gains in student achievement and teacher effectiveness. Includes policy recommendations for school turnarounds and key insights from The Urban Excellence FrameworkTM.
