Charter schools have become a widely used alternative to traditional public schools, both nationally and in the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Southeast Region. They play an increasingly important role in state reform efforts. South Carolina stakeholders--including the South Carolina Department of Education, the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, and charter school leaders throughout the state--requested assistance from REL Southeast to broaden their understanding of why some charter schools are more successful than others to inform their consideration of whether to expand this school choice option. This study identifies charter schools that are "beating the odds," or performing better than expected given the demographic characteristics of the students they serve. "Details on the Analyses and Results" is appended.
Charter school stakeholders in South Carolina, including officials at the South Carolina Department of Education, personnel at the Public Charter School Alliance of South Carolina, and leaders of South Carolina charter schools, expressed interest in understanding the leadership characteristics and practices of charter school leaders across the state. Stakeholders were especially interested in how charter school leaders spend their work hours, what challenges the leaders face, and who influences policies in the charter schools. Regional Educational Laboratory Southeast helped develop an online survey of characteristics and practices that was administered by the South Carolina Department of Education to leaders of all charter schools in South Carolina. Leaders at 40 of the state's 66 charter schools--1 per school--responded to the survey. This report describes the process for developing the leadership survey and provides descriptive results of the survey. The key findings on the characteristics of the charter school leader respondents are: (1) Seventy-five percent were White, 65 percent were female, and 93 percent had at least a master's degree; (2) Eighty-eight percent had six or more years of leadership experience in education or another field, and 52 percent had two or fewer years of leadership experience in charter schools; (3) The leaders' salaries had no obvious link to their leadership experience; and (4) Implementing innovative practices and creating a certain school culture or climate were the highest ranked motivations for becoming a charter school leader. The key findings on time management, challenges, and influences on policy are: (1) On average, charter school leaders reported working 60 hours a week, although leaders of charter schools in their first year of operation averaged 69 hours; (2) Leaders reported spending the most time each week on activities related to communication with families and on school regulations and policies, and they reported spending the least time on lesson planning and personally providing professional development to staff; (3) More than 50 percent of leaders reported spending time each day on school safety and communication with families; (4) The majority of leaders reported being more frequently challenged by state education agency requirements and services and sponsor (called an authorizer in some states) involvement than by other challenges but being rarely or never challenged by staffing issues and board intervention; and (5) Charter school leaders agreed that school staff had more influence over policies related to classroom instruction, academic guidance, athletics, and student assessment than did the leaders. Also, the leaders reported that charter school board members had the most influence over board membership policies and that board members had little influence over other school policies. The following are appended: (1) Survey process and methodology; (2) Supplemental statistics; and (3) Leadership survey instrument.
This book tells the story of six secondary schools that have succeeded in eliminating or dramatically shrinking the achievement gap between whites and disadvantaged black and Hispanic students. It recounts the stories of the University Park Campus School (UPCS) in Worcester, the American Indian Public Charter School in Oakland, Amistad Academy in New Haven, the Cristo Rey Jesuit High School in Chicago, the KIPP Academy in the Bronx, and the SEED school in Washington, D.C.
Teaching at Its Best This third edition of the best-selling handbook offers faculty at all levels an essential toolbox of hundreds of practical teaching techniques, formats, classroom activities, and exercises, all of which can be implemented immediately. This thoroughly revised edition includes the newest portrait of the Millennial student; current research from cognitive psychology; a focus on outcomes maps; the latest legal options on copyright issues; and how to best use new technology including wikis, blogs, podcasts, vodcasts, and clickers. Entirely new chapters include subjects such as matching teaching methods with learning outcomes, inquiry-guided learning, and using visuals to teach, and new sections address Felder and Silverman's Index of Learning Styles, SCALE-UP classrooms, multiple true-false test items, and much more. Praise for the Third Edition of Teaching at Its BestEveryone veterans as well as novices will profit from reading Teaching at Its Best, for it provides both theory and practical suggestions for handling all of the problems one encounters in teaching classes varying in size, ability, and motivation." Wilbert McKeachie, Department of Psychology, University of Michigan, and coauthor, McKeachie's Teaching TipsThis new edition of Dr. Nilson's book, with its completely updated material and several new topics, is an even more powerful collection of ideas and tools than the last. What a great resource, especially for beginning teachers but also for us veterans!" L. Dee Fink, author, Creating Significant Learning ExperiencesThis third edition of Teaching at Its Best is successful at weaving the latest research on teaching and learning into what was already a thorough exploration of each topic. New information on how we learn, how students develop, and innovations in instructional strategies complement the solid foundation established in the first two editions." Marilla D. Svinicki, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas, Austin, and coauthor, McKeachie's Teaching Tips
This unique and comprehensive title offers state-of-the-art guidance on all of the clinical principles and practices needed in providing optimal health and well-being services for college students. Designed for college health professionals and administrators, this highly practical title is comprised of 24 chapters organized in three sections: Common Clinical Problems in College Health, Organizational and Administrative Considerations for College Health, and Population and Public Health Management on a College Campus. Section I topics include travel health services, tuberculosis, eating disorders in college health, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder among college students, along with several other chapters. Subsequent chapters in Section II then delve into topics such as supporting the health and well-being of a diverse student population, student veterans, health science students, student safety in the clinical setting, and campus management of infectious disease outbreaks, among other topics. The book concludes with organizational considerations such as unique issues in the practice of medicine in the institutional context, situating healthcare within the broader context of wellness on campus, organizational structures of student health, funding student health services, and delivery of innovative healthcare services in college health. Developed by a renowned, multidisciplinary authorship of leaders in college health theory and practice, and coinciding with the founding of the American College Health Association 100 years ago, Principles and Practice of College Health will be of great interest to college health and well-being professionals as well as college administrators.
In his 2011 ASCD best-seller Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning, author Mike Schmoker described a fresh pproach to K-12 teaching built on three core elements: a focused and coherent curriculum; clear, prioritized lessons; and purposeful reading and writing, or authentic literacy. Now, in Leading with Focus, he shows administrators, principals, and other education leaders how to apply his model to the work of running schools and districts. In this companion to his previous book, Schmoker offers * An overview of the case for simple, focused school and district leadership--demonstrating its power for vastly improving the work of teachers and leaders. * Examples of real schools and districts that have embraced focused leadership--and the incredible results for student learning. * A practical, flexible, and easy-to-follow implementation guide for ensuring focused leadership in schools and districts. All students deserve to learn in schools where educators eschew distractions and superfluous activities to concentrate on what’s most important. To that end, this book is an essential resource for leaders ready to streamline their practice and focus their efforts on radically improving student learning.
This book is guaranteed to spark lively debates and critical thinking in any classroom! Two of the most respected voices in education identify 50 myths and lies that threaten America's public schools. Berliner and Glass argue that many citizens conception of K12 public education in the United States is more myth than reality. Warped opinions about our nations public schools include: they are inferior to private schools; they are among the worst in the world in math and science; teachers should be fired if their students dont score at the national average, and on and on. With more than a little humor, Berliner and Glass separate fact from fiction in this comprehensive look at modern education reform. They explain how the mythical failure of public education has been created and perpetuated in large part by political and economic interests who stand to gain from its destruction. They expose a rapidly expanding variety of organizations and media that intentionally misrepresent facts. Where appropriate, they name the promoters of the hoax and point out how their interests are served by encouraging false beliefs. Their method of debunking these falsehoods is to argue against their logic, criticize the data supporting them, and present more credible contradictory data. This dynamic book features short essays on important topics to provide every teacher, administrator, school board member, and concerned parent with reliable knowledge from authoritative sources.
This book shows principals how to successfully balance the needs and priorities of their schools while continuously developing and refining their leadership skills.
