School Effectiveness and School Improvement
School Effectiveness and School Improvement

Author: Louise Stoll

Publisher: Institute of Education

Published: 1995

Total Pages: 8

ISBN-13: 9780854734764

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The last decade has seen a burgeoning of interest in the twin fields of school effectiveness and school improvement by politicians, policy makers and practitioners. For some, the drive has been to raise standards and increase accountability through inspection and assessment measures, believing that the incentive of accountability and market competition will lead to improvement. Alternatively, reform and restructuring have led many people in schools to create their own agenda and ask, ‘How do we know that what we are doing makes a positive difference to our pupils?’ and, ‘What can we do to provide pupils with the best possible education?’ This paper explores the two paradigms that underpin notions of school effectiveness and school improvement. We start with their definitions and aims. Key factors of effectiveness and improvement are examined and fundamental issues discussed. We conclude with a description of attempts to link the two areas of work.

The School Improvement Planning Handbook
The School Improvement Planning Handbook

Author: Daniel Linden Duke

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2013

Total Pages: 297

ISBN-13: 1610486315

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Developing and updating school improvement plans is an annual ritual for virtually all school principals and their school improvement committees. Still, large numbers of schools continue to produce disappointing outcomes. The authors believe that part of the problem is the result of plans that focus on the wrong targets and that rely on ineffective strategies for improvement. To help principals and their school improvement committees develop and implement plans with a greater likelihood of success, the authors offer a step-by-step process for school improvement planning. They go on to pinpoint specific school improvement goals, including raising reading and mathematics achievement, building robust school cultures, addressing the needs of English language learners, improving instruction, and reducing absenteeism and dropouts. For each goal, a variety of objectives and proven strategies is presented along with sample school improvement plans. The book addresses the differences in planning to turn around a low-performing school, planning to sustain improvements over time, and planning to move a good school to a great school.

Learning to Improve
Learning to Improve

Author: Anthony S. Bryk

Publisher: Harvard Education Press

Published: 2015-03-01

Total Pages: 309

ISBN-13: 161250793X

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As a field, education has largely failed to learn from experience. Time after time, promising education reforms fall short of their goals and are abandoned as other promising ideas take their place. In Learning to Improve, the authors argue for a new approach. Rather than “implementing fast and learning slow,” they believe educators should adopt a more rigorous approach to improvement that allows the field to “learn fast to implement well.” Using ideas borrowed from improvement science, the authors show how a process of disciplined inquiry can be combined with the use of networks to identify, adapt, and successfully scale up promising interventions in education. Organized around six core principles, the book shows how “networked improvement communities” can bring together researchers and practitioners to accelerate learning in key areas of education. Examples include efforts to address the high rates of failure among students in community college remedial math courses and strategies for improving feedback to novice teachers. Learning to Improve offers a new paradigm for research and development in education that promises to be a powerful driver of improvement for the nation’s schools and colleges.

Mental Health in Schools
Mental Health in Schools

Author: Howard S. Adelman

Publisher: Simon and Schuster

Published: 2015-09-15

Total Pages: 338

ISBN-13: 1510701028

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For many children, schools are the main or only providers of mental health services. In this visionary and comprehensive book, two nationally known experts describe a new approach to school-based mental health—one that better serves students, maximizes resources, and promotes academic performance. The authors describe how educators can effectively coordinate internal and external resources to support a healthy school environment and help at-risk students overcome barriers to learning. School leaders, psychologists, counselors, and policy makers will find essential guidance, including: • An overview of the history and current state of school mental health programs, discussing major issues confronting the field • Strategies for effective school-based initiatives, including addressing behavior issues, introducing classroom-based activities, and coordinating with community resources • A call to action for higher-quality mental health programming across public schools—including how collaboration, research, and advocacy can make a difference Gain the knowledge you need to develop or improve your school's mental health program to better serve both the academic and mental health needs of your students!

School, Family, and Community Partnerships
School, Family, and Community Partnerships

Author: Joyce L. Epstein

Publisher: Corwin Press

Published: 2018-07-19

Total Pages: 508

ISBN-13: 1483320014

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Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

Data-Driven School Improvement
Data-Driven School Improvement

Author: Ellen B. Mandinach

Publisher: Teachers College Press

Published: 2008

Total Pages: 455

ISBN-13: 0807775509

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The first comprehensive examination of the field, this book brings together stakeholders representing a variety of perspectives to explore how educators actually use data and technology tools to achieve lasting improvement in student performance. Contributors: David V. Abbott, Carrie Amon, Jonathan Bertfield, Cornelia Brunner, Fred Carrigg, Jere Confrey, Katherine Conoly, Valerie M. Crawford, Chris Dede, John Gasko, Greg Gunn, Juliette Heinze, Naomi Hupert, Sherry P. King, Mary Jane Kurabinski, Daniel Light, Lisa Long, Michael Merrill, Liane Moody, William R. Penuel, Luz M. Rivas, Mark S. Schlager, John Stewart, Sam Stringfield, Ronald Thorpe, Yukie Toyama, Jeffrey C. Wayman, and Viki M. Young. “If you want to understand usable knowledge, read Data-Driven School Improvement.” —Ellen Condliffe Lagemann, Harvard University “It is reassuring to know that at least some of the data being generated in our data-driven age are being used to make wiser decisions. We can all learn from these illustrative accounts.” —David C. Berliner, Mary Lou Fulton College of Education, Arizona State University “Replete with examples from real schools and districts, this volume provides a multi-layered portrait of what it takes to establish a culture of data use. Readers will come away with an appreciation of the systemic changes needed to reap the full potential of data-driven decision making.” —Barbara Means, Center for Technology in Learning, SRI International

Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement
Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement

Author: Victoria L. Bernhardt

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2017-09-19

Total Pages: 426

ISBN-13: 1351587862

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Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement provides a new definition of school improvement, away from a singular focus on compliance, toward a true commitment to excellence. This book is a call to action. It is about inspiring schools and school districts to commit to continuous school improvement by providing a framework that will result in improving teaching for every teacher and learning for every student through the comprehensive use of data. A culmination of over 30 years of doing the hard work in schools and districts both nationally and internationally, Data Analysis for Continuous School Improvement shares new, evidence-based learnings about how to analyze, report, communicate, and use multiple measures of data. The updated edition provides a wealth of tools, protocols, timelines, examples, and strategies that will help schools and districts become genuine learning organizations.