Interactive Resources 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

College Readiness for All: A Practitioner’s Toolbox
www.pathwaystocollege.net/collegereadiness/toolbox/index.htm
This interactive tool created by the Pathways to College Network brings research-supported strategies to educators to prepare students for college.  Organized for principals, counselors, and college outreach professionals, the toolbox leads practitioners through four steps: 1. assessing the school in terms of the College Readiness for All framework, 2. developing a school wide plan, 3. implementing the plan, and 4. evaluating progress.

 

 

Dispelling the Myth Online
www2.edtrust.org/edtrust/dtm
This Education Trust database allows you to search for high-performing schools with high percentages of students of color and/or those that are living in poverty.  Search in the District of Columbia or any state nationwide.

 

 

Education News
www.EducationNews.org
Education News gathers and disseminates news articles, commentaries, and reports about education from around the world.  You can sign up for the daily digest.

 

 

Education Watch Online
66.43.154.40:8001/projects/edtrust/index.html
Through this tool, the Education Trust provides nationwide and state-level education information.  Data is provided for all school levels from kindergarten through college.

 

 

Education Week
www.edweek.org
Education Week’s website features news articles and periodic publications.  Visit the Research Center to learn about topics you are interested in or look for data on DC or any state.  Sign up for daily or weekly collections of news.

 

 

National Center for Education Statistics
nces.ed.gov
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the Department of Education collects and analyzes national data on education.  Try the “NCES Fast Facts” tool for quick searches on topics that interest you.

 

 

National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform
www.goodschools.gwu.edu/main_index.html
Learn about system-wide approaches to reforming schools on this website, co-sponsored by the Department of Education, George Washington University, and the Institute for Educational Leadership.

 

 

Teacher Working Conditions Toolkit
www.teacherworkingconditions.org
Developed from teacher feedback, this toolkit provides the opportunity for you to evaluate your school’s working conditions.  It also recommends how to use data to improve five conditions that greatly impact teaching and learning: 1. time, 2. leadership, 3. empowerment, 4. professional development, and 5. facilities and resources.

 

 

What Works Clearinghouse
www.w-w-c.org
Through the What Works Clearinghouse, the Department of Education evaluates education studies against standards that determine the quality of the research and the strength of the findings.

 

 

All Students Reaching the Top: Strategies for Closing Academic Achievement Gaps
www.ncrel.org/gap/studies/allstudents.pdf *
The National Study Group for the Affirmative Development of Academic Ability reports that achievement gaps between students of different socioeconomic and racial groups can be closed by simultaneously instituting high-quality teaching and instruction in the classroom, building trusting relationships in school, and supporting pro-academic behavior in the school and community.

 

 

Establishing a Baseline: Report on the State of Education in the District of Columbia
www.seo.dc.gov/seo/frames.asp?doc=/seo/lib/seo/SER/State_of_Education_rpt04.pdf&group=1507 *
The State Education Office presents the first in a series of reports on the performance and progress of public and public charter schools in the District of Columbia, featuring clickable links to additional resources at the end of each chapter.  Covering a broad range of topics affecting local students, the chapters are devoted to: 1. Our Children and Their Families, 2. Our Students and Their Schools, 3.  Our Teachers and School Leaders, 4. Student Outcomes, 5. Financing Our Schools, and 6. Taking Stock.

 

The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools
www.actionforhealthykids.org/AFHK/specialreports/index.php
According to Action for Healthy Kids, poor health and low activity result in costs to schools that could be avoided or reduced.  The report recommends five short-term ways for schools to collaborate with the community: 1. establish an action committee, 2. develop a wellness policy that addresses goals and training, 3. incorporate physical activity into the school day, 4. use after-school time to promote nutrition education and physical activity, and 5. encourage staff to set a healthy example.

 

Telling Your Story: A Toolkit for Marketing Urban Education
www.nsba.org/site/docs/34700/34647.pdf *
This resource guide by the Council of Urban Boards of Education of the National School Boards Association gives public relations advice to urban school boards.  The step-by-step guide uses proven marketing tips to help school boards better communicate their positive and negative stories to the public.

 

Confronting Myths about Hispanics
www.publiceducation.org/connections/fall04/brown.asp
Sarita Brown, president of Excelencia in Education, uses demographic and opinion poll data to confront three myths about Hispanic families and education.  The myths regard Hispanics’ feelings about the value of education, learning English and participating in civic life.

 

The Funding Gap 2004: Many States Still Shortchange Low-Income and Minority Students
www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/30B3C1B3-3DA6-4809-AFB9-2DAACF11CF88/0/funding2004.pdf *
Using 2001-2002 federal data from 14,000 school districts, the Education Trust finds that states provide fewer resources to the districts with the most minority students and those living in poverty. Overall, the funding gap widened between 1997 and 2002, due to states' increased reliance on local property taxes for education funding. State policymakers are asked to: 1. reduce their reliance on local property taxes, 2. target extra money toward low-income students, 3. fix intra-district funding gaps, 4. spend more on education overall, and 5. tie funding reform to other education reform efforts.

 

Transforming High School
www.nwrel.org/nwedu/index.php
This issue of Northwest Education magazine provides several articles on high school reform.  Of particular interest to urban practitioners are reports about adolescent literacy and transforming large high schools into small learning academies.

 

A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America’s Brightest Students
www.nationdeceived.org
The National Templeton Report on Acceleration argues that acceleration (allowing students to skip grades or content) is a virtually cost-free intervention that benefits the wide majority of eligible students both academically and socially, but requires careful planning by school leaders and parents. The research evidence is available at  nationdeceived.org/NDv2.pdf*.

 

Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results From the 2001-2002 Private School Universe Survey
nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2005305
Results from the biennial Private School Universe Survey (PSS) are presented in this report, by the National Center on Education Statistics.  The PSS tracks the number of private schools, teachers, and students, along with characteristics about these groups.  Highlights include the diverse affiliations of private schools and their growing enrollment.

 

Charter School Authorizers and Oversight: Where Is the Line between Effectively Holding Schools Accountable and Overregulation?
www.charterauthorizers.org/files/nacsa/BECSA/IssueBriefNo5.pdf *
The Authorizer Issue Brief presents four perspectives from charter school authorizers on balancing accountability with autonomy.  The journal features an article by Josephine Baker, Executive Director of the District of Columbia Public Charter School Board.  This local chartering authority emphasizes: 1. each charter school’s adherence to its charter, 2. financial management, and 3. student growth.

 

Dropout Rates in the United States: 2001
nces.ed.gov/pubs2005/2005046.pdf *
The National Center for Education Statistics reports that dropout rates nationwide have not improved since the  1970s and 1980s.  Dropout rates are defined in four ways, and data is reported by race, family income, region, and age.  You will find data on the District of Columbia and the 50 states on pp. 25-26, 38, 41-42, 49-50, 54-55, 56-57, and 69-70.

 

Experimenting with Teacher Compensation
www.aasa.org/publications/sa/2004_10/odden.htm
Allan Odden and Marc Wallace report that the most effective ways for districts to reform the teacher pay structure is to complement pay raises with incentives that are tied to the performance of teachers or their students.  The following issues can guide the development of teacher pay reform: 1. the magnitude of the change, 2. goals and a game plan, 3. the role of the union, 4. applying performance pay to non-teaching staff, 5. lessons learned elsewhere, 6. time frame, and 7. transition plan.

 

Measured Progress
www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/F1C402F7-AB53-49ED-A9DC-27A41AA6E7E5/0/MeasuredProgressSumma99F.pdf *
In this report, the Education Trust analyzes differences in academic achievement in each state before and after the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act.  Almost half of states had three years of comparable data and were included in the analysis.  Findings indicate that elementary reading and math test scores increased in most of the states analyzed.  Equally encouraging, the gap between the test scores of African-American and White students decreased in most states.

 

The Support Gap: New Teachers’ Early Experiences in High-Income and Low-Income Schools
epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v12n61/
Surveyed teachers reveal a “support gap,” where new teachers in high-income schools benefit from better hiring practices, experienced mentoring, and curricula that are both flexible and aligned to standards.  These patterns relate to teacher satisfaction and the high degree of teacher turnover in low-income schools.  To improve student success and teacher retention, states and districts can pass budgets early and authorize early hiring.   Districts and schools can prioritize induction for new teachers, provide curricular guidance, and ensure that professional development is meaningful and on-going.

 

Innovations in Education: Creating Successful Magnet School Programs
www.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/magnet/index.html
Based on lessons learned from six strong magnet school districts, this Department of Education booklet details  the successful development of magnet schools.  Chapters include starting up, promotions, working with parents, fully implementing the program, and evaluation.

 

No Child Left Behind Act: Improvements Needed in Education’s Process for Tracking States’ Implementation of Key Provisions
www.gao.gov/new.items/d04734.pdf *
The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reviews the requirements of the No Child Left Behind and describes differences between states’ plans for standards and assessment.  As of July 31, 2004, DC was one of 24 states whose standards and assessment system was not “fully approved.”  The GAO recommends that the Secretary of Education: 1. establish a written process and timeframes for getting all state plans fully approved by 2006 and 2. help states improve the quality of their data.

 

Innovations in Education: Successful Charter Schools
www.ed.gov/admins/comm/choice/charter/report.pdf *
The Department of Education identifies key elements of effective charter schools, with case studies of eight schools, including DC’s Arts and Technology Academy Public Charter School.  The reports highlights the importance of a clear mission; innovation; a culture of continuous improvement; partnerships with parents and the community; and accountability.

 

The Real Value of Teachers
www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/5704CBA6-CE12-46D0-A852-D2E2B4638885/0/Spring04.pdf *
The Education Trust argues that value-added data should be used to determine the effectiveness of teachers, to improve teacher quality, and to distribute teacher talent where it is most needed.  The report concludes with recommendations for policymakers, teachers, and higher education about using value-added data, along with data on inequitable distribution of teachers.

 

Who Benefits from Failing Urban School Districts?  An Essay on Equity and Justice for Diverse Children in Urban Poverty
www.educationnews.org/An-Essay-on-Equity-and-Justice-for-Diverse-Children-in-Urban%20Poverty.htm
Author Martin Haberman asserts that urban school districts are structured to fail children of color and those living in poverty.  The report addresses five issues related to failing urban school districts: 1. their systematic growth, 2. the diverse constituencies that benefit from them, 3. resistance to change from within the system, 4. the role of teacher education programs in perpetuating failure, and 5. state-level recommendations for improving education outcomes.