Welcome

Presented by the Alaska Comprehensive Center, this site brings together in one place current information about school improvement planning and strategies that you can use right now in meeting the provisions of No Child Left Behind and increasing student performance.

New information is regularly being added to these pages. We invite you to explore the resources provided here and to check back often for updates. We also encourage you to contact us with your feedback on this site’s quality, usefulness and relevance to your work.

Explore these quick links!



Components of Effective Schools




Content Areas & Subgroups




Stakeholder Resources

Archived WEBEX Events

WebEx: Identifying and Implementing Key Components of Effective Writing Instruction
Results and the implications for selecting and implementing effective instructional methods for adolescent writing, especially for students who are struggling or have learning disabilities. The PowerPoint presentation and the synopsis of the Writing Next document are available for download below. Click HERE to view the archived WebEx.

These files are also available for this WebEx:
• Identifying and Implementing Key Components of Effective Writing Instruction (2.21 MB)
• Synopsis of Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle & High Schools (47.5 KB)

Identifying and Implementing Key Components of Effective Writing Instruction
The Center on Instruction Special Education Strand hosted a WebEx on February 20, 2008, focused on writing as a critical aspect of literacy and one in which effective instructional techniques and models for intervention are needed. Presenter Dr. Steve Graham, co-author of Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle High Schools, described the results and the implications for selecting and implementing effective instructional methods for adolescent writing, especially for students who are struggling or have learning disabilities. The PowerPoint presentation and the synopsis of the Writing Next document are available for download below. Click HERE to view the archived WebEx is available at
The following files are also available for this event:
Identifying and Implementing Key Components of Effective Writing Instruction
Synopsis of Writing Next: Effective Strategies to Improve Writing of Adolescents in Middle High Schools
http://centeroninstruction.org/pdevents.cfm#24

National Center on Response to Intervention
The Center’s mission is to provide technical assistance to states and districts and building the capacity of states to assist districts in implementing proven models for RTI/EIS.

Polling Question

What content area(s) are of greatest interest/need to you?



Professional Development

The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance within the Institute of Education Sciences has released the report "The Evaluation of Enhanced Academic Instruction in After-School Programs: Findings After the First Year of Implementation (NCEE 2008-4021)."

The evaluation reports on the impacts on student achievement of two academic programs, one for reading and one for mathematics in grades 2-5. Compared to students attending regular after-school program activities, the students selected for the after-school math program received, on average, an additional 49 hours of instruction; students selected for the reading program received 48 hours of additional instruction, on average. The evaluation found a statistically significant difference in student math achievement favoring students in the math after-school program compared with those in the regular after-school activities. There was no statistically significant difference in reading achievement between students in the reading after-school program and those in the regular after-school activities.

Go to http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20084021.asp to view, print, and download the report.



December 2007 (pdf)
January 2008 (pdf)
March 2008 (pdf)
April 2008 (pdf)
May 2008 (pdf)