Education Commons^™

Great Schools Are Not An Accident: Standards And Promising Practices For Educating Boys Of Color, Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant, Ron Walker, Edward Fergus

Rhonda Tsoi-A-Fatt Bryant

No abstract provided.

Teacher Leadership: Women (Of African Descent) Enacting Social Justice, Vonzell Agosto, Zorka Karanxha

Zorka Karanxha

No abstract provided.

Students' Learning Style Preferences And Teachers' Instructional Strategies: Correlations Between Matched Styles And Academic Achievement, Mary L. Wilson

Mary Wilson

The purpose of the current study was to identify the extent to which learning styles influence the educational process as well as the outcome of students, particularly elementary-age students, in terms of academic achievement. This study examined the potential relationship between the degree of match (as determined by comparing learning style preferences of students with instructional strategies of teachers) and the academic achievement of fourth grade students as shown by Palmetto Assessment of State Standards scores in four academic content areas, namely English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The researcher collected data from a sample of approximately 200 …

Growth Model Evaluations: Possibilities And Pitfalls, John A. Dively Jr

John A Dively Jr

In response to Race to the Top mandates, student academic growth models are being incorporated into teacher evaluation processes across the country. Illinois’ version of the reform is the Performance Evaluation Reform Act. This paper briefly summarizes the new law and its impact to date. Further, the paper provides reflection upon the current research related to VAMs, and the possible legal consequences of relying on student growth models as a significant component of teacher personnel decisions.

A Study Of School Disturbance In The United States: A Twentieth Century Perspective, Part One, Gordon A. Crews

Gordon A Crews

In 1989, President George Bush. and the Nation's fifty governors, held a historic education summit that culminated in the adoption of six National Education Goals. These six broad goals were intended to serve as a framework for future reform efforts. The sixth goal of the United States' National Educational Goals states: By the year 2000, every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. The stated objectives are: Every school will implement a firm and fair policy on use, possession, and distribution of drugs and alcohol. Parents, businesses, and …

Teachers Take Control! Implementing The Ngss As Team Inquiry, Steven R. Rogg Ph.D.

Steven R Rogg

STEM commentators have noted the obvious - that the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) promise to improve STEM education only if implemented fully and with fidelity. Clearly, TEACHERS are essential if the potential of the NGSS are to be realized. As new curricula and assessment systems evolve, it will be TEACHERS who translate resources to create powerful student learning experiences. This session examines experience- and research-based ideas for teacher teams to take charge of NGSS implementation as professional inquiry. The dynamic is expected to be highly interactive.

The Reflective Principal: Surviving The Journey, Louis K. Watts

Louis K Watts

I recently retired from the public school system after 34 years of service in the rural West Virginia county where I was born, reared, and educated through grade 12. For 22 of those years I was an elementary principal. Those years were an exciting and challenging time for me, and I hope that sharing some of my experiences will be entertaining and useful to young principals who are just beginning their journey. It is impossible to prescribe all of the steps that will be a part of that journey, but I can’t think of any better source of guidance than …

Shu Prof Receives $1.8m Grant From Albania, Robert Mccloud

Robert McCloud

No abstract provided.

Are School Superintendents Rewarded For “Performance”?, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Richard P. Chaykowski, Randy Ann Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

[Excerpt] This chapter presents analyses of the compensation and mobility of school superintendents in New York State during the 1978-79 to 1982-83 period. The focus is on school superintendents because they are the chief operating officers of school districts, their salaries are determined through individual "negotiations" with school boards, and their salary data were made available to us. In contrast, school principals' salary data were not available to us. Especially in large districts, principals tend to be members of a union and their salary increases negotiated collectively, which limits the likelihood of observing individual principals' salaries being related to measures …

The Power To Transform: Leadership That Brings Learning And Schooling To Life, Stephanie Pace Marshall

Stephanie Pace Marshall, Ph.D.

The Power to Transform is a call to re-conceive and re-design schooling. Rather than offer “best practices” or “prescriptive solutions,” it invites leaders of all ages and walks of life to think differently about learning and schooling. It illuminates the “why” and “what” of educational transformation and explores its deepest roots. It offers new language, new design principles, a new framework, and a new map for creating vibrant, imaginative and adaptive learning landscapes that integrate the dynamic properties of living systems with the generative principles of learning. It is from this natural integration that the new story of learning and …

Determinants Of The Compensation And Mobility Of School Superintendents, Ronald G. Ehrenberg, Richard P. Chaykowski, Randy Ehrenberg

Ronald G. Ehrenberg

Analyzing 197-83 panel data from more than 700 New York State school districts, the authors find evidence that school superintendents were rewarded, both by higher salary increases and by enhanced opportunities to move to belter-paying jobs, for having low school tax rates and high educational achievement within their districts, relative to the values of those variables in comparable school districts in the state. The rewards were, however, quite small. The analysis also suggests that the superintendents themselves did not significantly influence either school tax rates or educational test scores in their districts.

Planning And Changing Special Issue Learning To Lead: An Examination Of Innovative Principal Leadership Preparation Practices, John W. Presley, Kristina Hesbol

Kristina Hesbol

Leadership preparation studies in general have been limited relative to specific program practices and outcomes (Murphy & Vriesenga, 2006; Perez, Uline, Johnson, James-Ward, & Basom, 2011). The authors in this special issue provide clear evidence of effectiveness of their program approaches, including newly-developed tools to inform programmatic and curricular decision-making, consistent with a growing interest in establishing a link between leadership preparation and program outcomes (Orr, 2009). This special issue presents a different focus, an examination centered on a shift from accountability, demonstrated previously as a response to shifting policy mandates, to responsibility to prepare effective leaders who are trained …

School Culture, Equity, And Student Academic Performance In A Rural Appalachian School, Roger Cleveland, Jennifer Chambers, Cretia Mainus, Norman Powell, Rose Skepple, Tiffany Tyler, April Wood

Norman W. Powell

The authors provide an overview of a culture-equity audit conducted in a rural Appalachian school. The purpose was to collect information that would assist the school to optimize student academic performance. School culture is critical to establishing successful school learning environments. It provides one of the most significant foundations for successful student achievement (Cleveland, Powell, Saddler, &Tyler, 2008). Some studies suggest that educational leaders could play significant roles in culture building (Deal, 1990, 1994; Levine, 1989; Parish & Aquila, 1996; Pritchard et al., 2005). A culture audit provides an opportunity to learn about the culture of a school or district. …

Barbara Garii's Book Review Of Student Teaching And The Law In The Journal Of Tutoring And Mentoring: Partnership In Learning, Zorka Karanxha

Zorka Karanxha

No abstract provided.

Extreme Math Makeover: Mathematics Assessment And Reporting In The Era Of The Common Core Standards, Glenn W. "Max" Mcgee

Glenn W. "Max" McGee

This presentation discusses the need to develop high quality performance based assessments of the Common Core Mathematical Standards and Mathematical Practices. Several examples of performance assessments from high achieving countries as well as from the 2009 PISA test are included.

Turbulence, Perturbance, And Educational Change, Brian Beabout

Brian R. Beabout

While scholarship on educational change has long accepted that disruptions to the status quo are an essential part of the change process, disruption has never been more central to planned change than it is in the current political context in the USA, where legislation has mandated school closure, reconstitution, and turnaround as required remedies for schools failing to produce annual student achievement gains required by government. We are also unfortunately hampered by the imprecise language that surrounds complexity- based theories of educational change. Words such as perturbance, turbulence, and disruption all have gained currency lately, but meanings are unclear and …

Establishing Special Education Programs: Experiences Of Christian School Principals, Gary Cookson, Samuel J. Smith

Samuel James Smith