Declaration of Education: Keeping Our Promise to the District's Children
www.k12.dc.us/dcps/SPindex.htm
On May 2, 2005, Superintendent Clifford Janey released a strategic plan for the District of Columbia Public Schools. The plan describes the vision, goals and strategic priorities that will guide the school system's work over the coming years.  The DC Education Compact - a coalition of leaders from education, government, business, community organizations, foundations and higher education - released a companion plan for school-community partnerships to strengthen DCPS.

 

 

Technology Counts 2005: Education Transfer: Moving Technology Dollars in New Directions
http://www.edweek.org/ew/toc/2005/05/05/index.html
Education Week's 8th Annual Report on school technology includes in-depth articles on issues surrounding technology spending, state profiles, and the first-ever ranking of state technology leaders.  The report also discusses state use of data-management systems to help them meet the reporting requirements and student-achievement goals of the federal No Child Left Behind Act.

 

 

The National Randomized Field Trial of Success for All: Second-Year Outcomes
www.successforall.net/_images/pdfs/SFA_RE_Year%202_Outcomes.doc
This report examines the second year outcomes of Success for All, a comprehensive reading reform model that has been implemented in over 1,200 schools nationwide.  The study was funded primarily through a grant from the US Department of Education in order to address limitations found in previous research through the use of a randomized research design.  The study found statistically significant school effects on three out of the four tested literacy outcomes and that Success for All may put students up to a half a year ahead of their peers in regular classrooms.

 

 

nieer.org/resources/files/NPSteachers.pdf*
This is the first of several reports to be released by the National Prekindergarten Study, a large-sample, broad-based study designed to evaluate the implementation and classroom practices of state-funded Prekindergarten programs across all the states that fund them.  This report examines the characteristics of teachers and assistant teachers teaching children in 40 different states.

 

 

How to Expand and Improve Preschool in California:  Ideals, Evidence and Policy Options
pace.berkeley.edu/pace_universal_preschool.pdf*
The National Center for Infant and Early Childhood Health Policy has released a series of 15 reports and corresponding policy briefs all geared to helping states develop their own initiatives for optimizing health, development, and well-being in early childhood.

 

 

Prekindergartners Left Behind: Expulsion Rates in State Prekindergarten Systems
www.ffcd.org/PDFs/NationalPreKExpulsionPaper03.02_new.pdf *
The Yale University Child Study Center used data from 52 state-based prekindergarten programs during the 2003-04 school year and interviews of 3,900 preK teachers to analyze expulsion prekindergarten expulsion rates.  Those rates were then compared against expulsion rates for K-12 students listed in the US Department of Education’s “Elementary and Secondary School Survey: 2000."  The study finds that, overall, prekindergarten children are being expelled from their classes for behavior problems at a higher rate than students in K-12 schools and provides recommendations strategies for implementing program supports necessary to lower these rates.users.

 

 

The Accidental Principal: What Doesn't Get Taught in Ed Schools
www.educationnext.org/20053/pdf/34.pdf*
In order to analyze what is being taught in a stratified national sample of 31 principal-preparation programs, the authors of this Education Next study reviewed more than 200 course syllabi that covered almost 2,500 total course weeks.  The authors conclude that there is a lack of emphasis on results-oriented management or accountability, which they believe is critical for districts depending on principals to lead improvement in the era of No Child Left Behind.

 

 

 

Making Progress Toward Graduation: Evidence from the Talent Development High School Model
www.mdrc.org/publications/408/full.pdf*
The Talent Development High School model is a comprehensive school reform initiative that was developed to address the challenges faced by low-performing urban high schools. This report discusses the key findings of an independent evaluation of the Talent Development model in five Philadelphia high schools.  The evaluation concludes that: 1) Talent Development produced substantial gains in attendance, academic course credits earned, and promotion rates during students’ first year of high school; 2) Talent Development’s strong positive impacts during the first year of high school are consistent with the model’s intensive initial focus on the ninth grade; and 3) The improvements in credits earned and promotion rates for ninth-graders were sustained as students moved through high school.

 

 

College Readiness Begins in Middle School
www.act.org/path/policy/pdf/CollegeReadiness.pdf*
This report, released by the ACT, suggests that many students don't start thinking about their post-high school plans early enough, and that those who do may not be taking the right classes to prepare to meet their goals.  The ACT report recommends that school districts set up a formal program to help students develop a college readiness plan starting in middle school. It urges schools to work with all students and their parents, explaining to them the importance of taking a challenging curriculum and the effect it can have on their future educational, career and income options. It also recommends that schools work with families to calculate college costs and develop a plan to meet those costs.

 

Evaluation of Programs Supported by The After School Corporation
www.policystudies.com/studies/youth/Evaluation%20TASC%20Programs.html
In 2004, Policy Studies Associates completed a five-year evaluation of a large-scale after-school program supported by The After-School Corporation (TASC) in New York City. TASC supports community-based and other nonprofit organizations in the delivery of after-school services to students, in collaboration with public schools. The summary report reviews program effectiveness in meeting quality expectations and in generating benefits for participating students. It also identifies program practices associated with student benefits.  Supplementary papers review 1) the TASC program approach, 2) student participation in TASC programs, 3) TASC activities and students' reactions to them, and 4) changes in the educational performance of TASC participants. 

 

 

Guide for Creating and Improving School/Business Partnerships
www.corpschoolpartners.org/pdf/coke_how_to_guide.pdf*
The Council for Corporate and School Partnerships developed this guide using research and interviews with individuals who have experience creating, implementing and evaluating successful partnerships.  The guide is intended as a framework of effective strategies within which to build a partnership.

 

 

Investing in Our Future: Education and the Economy in Prince George's County
www.pgbea.org/SummitReport.pdf*
A 2004 report from the Prince George's County Business-Education Alliance says that the county is positioned to be an economic dynamo in the next 25 years, but its promise can be fulfilled only if it significantly improves its public education system. The report is based on presentations and discussions at the Prince George's Business-Education Summit, which brought together business and education leaders, academic experts, public officials, community activists, and other invited guests for a daylong meeting. The report examines the potential for economic growth in Prince George's and the challenges facing the public schools and the community college. It also outlines trends in public education funding and explores and explains the sources of money used to finance the public school and community college budgets. In addition, it provides recommendations for policy makers and business leaders.