All Resources (by latest date)
Toolkit for Implementing the School Improvement Grant (SIG) - Transformation Model (CII)
Alaskan Resources
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.
School turnaround videos that illustrate different models for SIG grants w/Letter from USDOE official
Research and Best Practices
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
Research and Best Practices
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.
Cooperative Learning Fits into the Calculation - How to Teach Math as a Social Activity
Alaskan Resources
Master teacher Chris Opitz, from Anchorage, shares resources for integrating social and emotional learning into math class.
"Skills and understanding in social and emotional learning don't just happen. The ultimate hope is that children come to school with healthy hearts and minds and the skills to communicate and interact effectively. But we all know that this is often not the case. Children come from wildly different backgrounds and experiences, and they bring their diverse skills and struggles to school.
As social, emotional, and.....
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) - Link to Anchorage School District SEL Program
Alaskan Resources
Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) is the process through which we learn to recognize and manage emotions, care about others, make good decisions, behave ethically and responsibly, develop positive relationships, and avoid negative behaviors . It is the process through which students enhance their ability to integrate thinking, feeling, and behaving in order to achieve important life tasks. Within the school setting, SEL can best be accomplished through a layered approach of skills lessons, infusion into the curricula and classroom.....
Continuum for Assessing Culturally Responsible School Traits - Anchorage School District
Alaskan Resources
This ASD tool offers an example of how educator(s) can measure on a continuum a school's progress towards becoming culturally responsive.
In addition, one can link to the Anchorage School District Cultural Proficiency website.
Professional Learning for Culturally Responsive Teaching from NCCRESt
Research and Best Practices
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.....
How the EBIS/RTI Process Works in Secondary Schools
Research and Best Practices
This document developed by the Tigard-Tualatin School District in Tigard, OR includes information on EBIS (Effective Behavior and Instructional Support) as a structured, systematic process (1) to review school-wide behavior and academic data in order to evaluate the effectiveness of core programs, (2) to screen and identify students needing additional academic and/or behavior support, and (3) to plan, implement, and modify interventions for these students. The document can be downloaded below, or you can click here for more information.
Instructional Models and Strategies for Teaching English Language Learners [K-12]
Research and Best Practices
This publication offers educators and policy-makers guidance on research-based strategies that have been effective in instructing English Language learners (ELLs). Regardless of the model that school districts select, teachers--especially those who have not been trained to work with ELLs--need help to determine the most effective strategies to accelerate student learning and maximize instructional time. This document outlines key contextual factors that decision-makers should take into account when making instructional choices for ELLs,.....
IDEA Partnership Collection (K-12 Special Education resource)
Research and Best Practices
A Partnership Collection, a website developed by the IDEA Partnership, is the result of the collaborative work of 65 partner organization representatives, five technical assistance providers, and a number of state and local organizations and agencies representing a range of roles at all levels of the education system and geographic locations across the country. The Collection provides access to a comprehensive database of materials and resources to assist in the understanding of RTI processes and best practices for its implementation on all.....
Turnaround Competencies for Teachers and Leaders and Toolkits for Selecting Turnaround Leaders and Teachers
Alaskan Resources
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)
Alaskan Resources
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.....
Individual Learning Plans For High School Students
Research and Best Practices
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.
The use of Individual Learning Plans for all high school students appears to be based on the move towards creating more student-centered, personalized learning environments with one key goal to foster student.....
Alaska District Curriculum Survey
Alaskan Resources
The Department of Education & Early Development asked the Alaska Comprehensive Center and Education Northwest to collect up-to-date information on reading and mathematics curricula, including texts and other published materials, that each district has adopted/purchased. It was EED’s intention by means of this survey to provide information to districts regarding curricula in use in the state and the ways districts are aligning the curricula to the standards.
School Turnaround Teachers: Competencies for Success
Alaskan Resources
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
Alaskan Resources
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."
Alaska Self-Study Tool
Alaskan Resources
The Self-Study Tool (SST) was developed to help schools conduct an internal review as part of their school improvement effort. The SST materials are based on the Instructional Audit Tool that has been used throughout Alaska to conduct on-site school audits by external teams of educators. The SST process provides teams from a school community an opportunity to engage in discussion and evidence-based inquiry. It is not intended to be the basis for evaluation or for making comparisons across schools. The end product is not a score, but the.....
Use of Education Data at the Local Level: From Accountability to Instructional Improvement
Research and Best Practices
The U.S. Department of Education recently published the results of a study examining the characteristics of data systems and their use at the classroom level. More specifically, it looked at what types of student data systems were available to school staff, how school staff were using the systems and other forms of student data, teachers' understanding of data displays and data interpretation issues, and the supports and challenges for school-level use of student data in planning and implementing instruction.
Literacy Instruction in the Content Areas: Getting to the Core of Middle and High School Improvement
Research and Best Practices
This report from the Alliance for Excellent Education (2007) contends that content teachers at the middle and secondary levels should engage their students in literacy training through integrated reading and writing activities that teach students how to recognize the particular conventions specific to the different subjects. The report concludes with practical policy goals to foster a greater integration of literacy training and content matter.
Teacher Hiring, Placement, and Assignment Practices
Alaskan Resources
This Key Issue discusses the importance of implementing effective teacher hiring and placement practices, particularly for at-risk districts and schools. It provides strategies for teacher hiring, assignment, and placement that will help districts’ approaches to hiring and placing teachers who are likely to be effective and stay in the schools where they start.
Effective Strategies That Boost Reading Comprehension
Research and Best Practices
This multimedia overview highlights key research findings and specific practice implications for comprehension strategy instruction. (5:26 min)
Explicit vocabulary instruction and strategies that help students become independent vocabulary learners
Research and Best Practices
Teachers should provide explicit vocabulary instruction both as part of reading and language arts classes and as part of content area classes such as science and social studies. Learning specialized vocabularies contributes to the success of reading among adolescent students. By giving students explicit instruction in vocabulary, content area teachers help them learn the meaning of new words and strengthen their independent skills in constructing the meaning of text.
Big Ideas in Beginning Reading
Research and Best Practices
This website is designed to provide information, technology, and resources to teachers, administrators, and parents across the country.
Big Ideas in Beginning Reading focuses on the five BIG IDEAS of early literacy:
* Phonemic Awareness
* Alphabetic Principle
* Accuracy and Fluency with text
* Vocabulary
* Comprehension
The website includes definitions and descriptions of the research and theories behind each of the big ideas, describes how to assess the big ideas, and provides information on how to teach the.....
CTE and Possible Links to Dropping Out (National Research Center for Career and Tech Ed)
Research and Best Practices
If participation in career and technical education has some relationship to dropping out of high school, we need to understand the nature of this relationship better. Research in this area can have implications for our conceptual understanding of what helps students find attachment to high school. Additionally, research in this area could have policy or practical implications for secondary education, as decisions are made about where dollars should be invested and how curriculum should be organized.
After considering simple descriptive.....
