Download or read book Smaller Learning Communities and Its Effect on the Public Schools Academic Achievement Level written by Sheena Walker and published by . This book was released on 2012-04-20 with total page 116 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book describes how smaller learning communities can have a positive effect on the public schools academic achievement level. Research for this was completed in 2005.

Download or read book New Small Learning Communities written by Kathleen Cotton and published by National Association of Secondary School Principals(NASSP). This book was released on 2004 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Districtwide Implementation of Small Learning Communities written by Temple University, Urban Education Collaborative and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 56 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last 10 to 15 years, a variety of efforts to transform American high schools have gained both public and private support. Significant among these are initiatives to implement Small Learning Communities (SLCs), part of a larger school reform and restructuring effort designed to address a variety of goals, including "downsizing large schools, meeting the needs of at-risk students, solving the problem of failing schools, modeling the process of school restructuring, personalizing education for all students, empowering teachers and extending their roles, preventing dropping out, and finding an equitable substitute for tracking" (Raywid, 1996a, p. 9). In 2004, the Christina School District (CSD) in Wilmington, Delaware, was awarded a three-year federal grant to implement secondary school reform as outlined in the district's Transformation Plan, which called for the implementation of small learning communities (via theme-based academies) in district high schools. The SLC grant was designed to "substantially improve the academic achievement, climate and potential for success for CSD's high school students." The effort would build on the Ninth-Grade Learning Community (Academy) piloted in 2003-2004 at Christiana High School (CHS) and would, by the end of the grant period, include SLCs, including 9th-grade and career-themed academies at all three district high schools; interdisciplinary teams of core subject teachers across all grade levels ("wall-to-wall" implementation) to foster personalized and continuous relationships between the team of teachers and their students; rigorous curriculum to meet the needs of all children; and provision of high-quality, sustained, intensive professional development in core academic subjects and SLC implementation. The three goals agreed upon by the school teams were to increase academic achievement, create a positive school climate, and increase parent and community involvement and engagement. Glasgow High School (GHS) and CHS added a fourth goal: to decrease the achievement gap. During Year 1 of the grant, each of the high schools developed its own set of three-year goals and annual measurable objectives. This report on the evaluation of the CSD's SLC implementation provides an overview of the SLC implementation both at the district level and at the three schools--CHS, Newark High School (NHS), and GHS--over the full grant period. Special attention is given to describing efforts to meet goals and their alignment to best practices in SLC implementation and how these best practices may be used to implement SLCs elsewhere. Appended are: (1) School Goals; (2) Research-based Practices in SLCs (by Oxley's Domains); (3) Delaware Student Testing Program Summary Results; and (4) Delaware Highly Qualified Teachers & Staffing Ratios. (Contains 1 figure, 2 tables and 2 footnotes.) [For "A Research Brief: Small Learning Communities--Recommendations for Success," see ED532061.].

Download or read book System wide Efforts to Improve Student Achievement written by Kenneth K. Wong and published by IAP. This book was released on 2006-03-01 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Strong system-wide support is increasingly being identified as laying an important role in policy efforts aimed at increasing student achievement (Hightower, Knapp, March, and McLaughlin: 2002). Yet current research often views district and other system-wide support as largely governance changes without substantive linkage to school improvement outcomes (Cuban and Usdan: 2003). In this volume we seek to deepen our understanding of the role of school districts and system-wide initiatives through a series of case studies that focus on how school districts and system-wide actors facilitate policy innovation and reform initiatives that are designed to improve student achievement. Through both quantitative and qualitative studies from diverse settings across the country, chapters in this volume examine the role of instructional technology, alternative accountability practices, management and partnership reforms, and school improvement efforts through new incentive and support practices. While challenges remain, these case studies demonstrate how districts support and facilitate school change aimed at improving student achievement.

Download or read book The Effectiveness of Small Learning Communities in Program Improvement Schools written by Stephanie Kay Lewis-Briggs and published by . This book was released on 2009 with total page 248 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Policy Leadership and Student Achievement written by C. Kent McGuire and published by IAP. This book was released on 2008-09-01 with total page 292 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This is the second book in the series examining student achievement. The chapters in this book reflect the scholarly papers presented at the July 2006 Education Policy, Leadership Summer Institute (EPLSI) by K–16 educators, researchers, community advocates, and policymakers who work in urban communities. The Institute serves as a place where individuals interested in scholarly discussions and research directly related to: (1) how data can be utilized to inform policy; (2) examining the urban school context from the perspectives of the polity, school leaders; students; and other related internal and external actors; and (3) identifying strategies for improving student academic achievement can gather. During this week-long Institute, participants examined the structural problems and policy tensions affecting urban communities and student achievement. The Institute’s theme, Meeting the Challenges of Urban Schools is reflected throughout this book. Specifically, this edition explores the interrelated aspects of policy, practice and research and how they affect academic achievement. The five sections in this book examine different challenges facing urban schools and their impact on student performance.

Download or read book Redesigning Schools for Success written by Charles E. Ruebling and published by AuthorHouse. This book was released on 2006 with total page 224 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Impact of Professional Learning Communities on Student Achievement in American Public Schools written by and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 92 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "The goal of this thesis is to outline what a professional learning community (PLC) is and the procedures used in its implementation. More importantly, this study then determines if PLCs can improve a school climate and increase student achievement. The study includes research on American public schools through the decades, various policies developed to promote student learning and to eliminate the gap in achievement among students of varying backgrounds. It looks at the policy of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and how that policy was altered to become the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The study then outlines the elements and implementation of PLCs, describing the role that everyone involved plays. Although more research is being conducted, there is existing evidence that PLCs have a positive impact on school climate and student achievement."--leaf 4.

Download or read book The Effects of Small Learning Communities on Students Academic Achievement in Urban Secondary Schools a Dissertation written by Edner J. Cayemite and published by . This book was released on 2005 with total page 360 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book The Effect of Small Learning Communities on Academic Success written by Tina Ruggeiro and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page 80 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Professional Learning Communities at Work written by Richard DuFour and published by Solution Tree. This book was released on 1998 with total page 0 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Provides specific information on how to transform schools into results-oriented professional learning communities, describing the best practices that have been used by schools nationwide.

Download or read book Professional Learning Communities Impact on Student Achievement written by Jan L. Hamilton and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 214 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "This study examined the impact of the Professional Learning Community model on student achievement in the state of California. Specifically, the study compared student achievement between two school types: Professional Learning Community schools and Non Professional Learning schools. The research utilized existing API scores for California schools compiled by the California Department of Education for the 2007-2008 school year. The Academic Performance Index (API) scores for 136 schools districts in the study was retrieved and examined along with the following additional data: English-language learner, special education status, ethnicity (African American, Hispanic-Latino), and socioeconomically disadvantaged students. Academic Performance Index (API) is a yearly state performance measure was downloaded for all schools partaking in this study. Elementary, middle and high schools API scores were compared along with specific subgroups: Hispanic, English Learner, African American, socioeconomically disadvantaged, and special education students. Results indicate that Hispanic and English Learner sub groups at the Elementary and Middle school level for Professional Learning Community Schools academic achievement was significant. At the high school level Hispanic and English language Learner sub groups academic achievement was significant for the Non Professional Learning Community schools."--Abstract, p. 1.

Download or read book Investigation of the Impact of Implementing Smaller Learning Communities on Student Performance in an Urban High School in Texas written by Thomas J. Dilworth and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 824 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Abstract The trend of the last 40 years to build fewer, but larger high schools has resulted in dollar savings to taxpayers, but at the cost of higher rates of absenteeism, weaker academic environments, and poorer student engagement in learning. External pressures in the way of educational reforms such as the federally mandated No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) have also had a negative impact on some large schools in urban school districts. Why is the United States undergoing such a broad national reform in education? The United States has a long history of educational reform. With every new generation comes a call for educational reform. Once education became compulsory in Texas in 1915 (Judd, 1918), so did calls to change it. Promises of changes to NCLB in the last year suggest that now we have left the "No Child Left Behind" reform movement (Duncan, 2009) and are moving toward a more culturally-centered approach to education where we acknowledge that societal problems affect the ability of students to get a quality education, we are able to provide constructive alternatives beyond the non-productive mantra that "if we just had better teachers and administrators, Johnny could learn." Arne Duncan (2009a), United States Secretary of Education, when interviewed on the television show The Colbert Report, said, "When schools are really the centers of the neighborhood and the heart of the community, our students are going to do very, very well." Indeed. Creating schools-within-schools (SWS) can serve to create neighborhoods -- academic neighborhoods -- that can serve students as the center of their educational community. The current national reform movement under President Obama as expressed by his Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, (2009b) requires states seeking funds to implement four core-interconnected reforms: · to reverse the pervasive dumbing-down of academic standards and assessments by states. Race to the top winners need to work toward adopting common, internationally benchmarked K-12 standards that prepare students for success in college and careers, · to close the data gap, which now handcuffs districts from tracking growth in student learning and improving classroom instruction, states will need to monitor advances in student achievement and identify effective instructional practices, · to boost the quality of teachers and principals, especially in high-poverty schools and hard-to-staff subjects, states and districts should be able to identify effective teachers and principals and have strategies for rewarding and retaining more top-notch teachers and improving or replacing ones who are not up to the job, and finally, · to turn around the lowest-performing schools, states and districts must be ready to institute far-reaching reforms, from replacing staff and leadership to changing the school culture (p. 2). While this may seem to be more of the finger pointing found in NCLB, and does not seem to coincide with Duncan's previously cited comments, that "schools are really the centers of the neighborhood and the heart of the community," it does embrace the need for "far-reaching reforms." SWS\SLC can be one of those reforms. This study explores critically and carefully the extent to which a smaller learning community within a large urban high school affected student academic achievement, attendance, graduation, and dropout rates as well as student readiness for careers and post-secondary education. This study uses a qualitative case study methodology to describe an experiment in which the researcher, rather than creating the treatment, examines the effects of a naturally occurring treatment after that treatment has taken place (Lord, 1973). While a Smaller Learning Community (SLC) in and of itself is not a panacea for student improvement, SLCs may create conditions for improved student performance. Cotton (2004) reports, that among other benefits, students achieve at higher levels than do students in larger schools on both standardized achievement tests and other measures. The results of this study suggest that SLCs can provide an improved learning environment students have better relationships with teachers, and teachers with administration and parents. Because of limitations inherent in the data base, however this study is inconclusive in its findings regarding SLC effectiveness with regards to enhanced or diminished performance of students academically. While TAKS test scores were not markedly improved in comparison to the state average and a comparable group of high schools, college readiness indicators improved significantly. This suggests that other variables are at work in this research site and should be explored. Due to the aforementioned data issues, the reader should avoid drawing conclusions from the results that may reflect poorly on Texas High School's administrators, teachers, and students. A number of contextual and methodological limitations outlined in the study may have restricted the researcher's ability to investigate sufficiently the impact from SLC implementation on these performance indicators. The researcher provides recommendations for further evaluation of SLC implementation in light of these limitations.

Download or read book A Research Brief Small Learning Communities written by Temple University, Urban Education Collaborative and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Over the last 15 years, a variety of efforts to transform American high schools have gained both public and private support. Significant among these efforts are initiatives to implement small learning communities (SLCs). Like other reform efforts, SLCs have several goals, including "downsizing large schools, meeting the needs of at-risk students, solving the problem of failing schools, modeling the process of school restructuring, personalizing education for all students, empowering teachers and extending their roles, preventing dropping out, and finding an equitable substitute for tracking" (Raywid, 1996, p. 9). In 2004, Delaware's Christina School District (CSD) was among many high-poverty districts awarded funding for implementation in its three high schools theme-specific SLCs--at the time, an emerging model with a strong "theoretical" base. The district's 3-year federal grant, designed to build on a 9th-grade academy piloted in 2003-04 at one high school, would create 9th-grade transition academies and career-themed SLCs in all high schools. These reform structures were to be characterized by (a) interdisciplinary teams of core subject teachers across all grade levels to foster personalized and continuous relationships between the teams of teachers and their students; (b) rigorous curricula to meet the needs of all children; and (c) the provision of high-quality, sustained professional development in core subjects and SLC implementation. This brief provides an overview of CSD's efforts to establish SLCs, both at the district and school level, highlighting challenges to the SLC design and its implementation. [For the full report, "Districtwide Implementation of Small Learning Communities: A Case Study on Improving School Climate," see ED532051.].

Download or read book School Connectedness Through Smaller Learning Communities written by Lauren Brooke Campbell and published by . This book was released on 2008 with total page 156 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The research question addressed in this project was, in what ways do smaller learning communities in the ninth grade foster connectedness within large suburban high schools? The motivating factor for this research was the increased level of student success in a math and science classroom when teams were implemented. This capstone explores the nature of ninth graders and specifically looks at how relationships flourish in smaller learning communities. The Search Institute developed 40 developmental assets for adolescents and many of these assets can be easily enhanced through smaller learning communities. The author documents research of students and teachers and reports back findings of an increased level of academic success and a more personalized learning experience.

Download or read book Effects on Academic Achievement of Small Learning Communities by Student Ability Level Race and Gender written by Kathy Tiller Simpson and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 55 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: There is adequate empirical evidence that small learning communities have an overall positive effect on academic achievement. Not only is this true overall, this is true for males and females as well as African Americans and Caucasians. It made a difference equally for all these groups. Small learning communities also seem to have a specific advantage for the lowest ability level students, especially low ability males.

Download or read book Improving Achievement in Low Performing Schools written by Randolph E. Ward and published by Corwin Press. This book was released on 2004-02-03 with total page 145 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: "I find here nothing less than a blueprint for transforming a failing urban school district with abysmal levels of student and adult performance into one of fiscal and academic respectability. No small feat!" Roland S. Barth Author, Lessons Learned How can multi-stressed, low-performing schools overcome obstacles to respond to the unique learning needs of students? As accountability in schools becomes more crucial, educators are looking for comprehensive and innovative management practices that respond to challenges and realities of student academic achievement. In order to improve academic performance and the quality of instruction, the entire school community needs to be involved. Improving Achievement in Low-Performing Schools provides six steps to overcome low performance. School principals and teacher leaders can create a school culture that supports the goals for student achievement and expects the same standards for all students. This excellent new resource focuses on: Improving student achievement in the core subjects Aligning teaching and learning with student performance Linking professional development for all staff to the goals for students Creating safe, clean, and secure school facilities Forging stronger links with parents, families, and the community Increasing management effectiveness, efficiency, and accountability The student is the chief client served by the educational profession. As students and their families become more confident that educators are dedicated to meeting students′ individualized needs, they become committed to supporting the key results accountability process.