Full Description
"In my work, I see the power of good schools to change young lives for the better almost every day. This book takes us behind the doors of unusually high-performing high-poverty schools to show us how they do it and where they get the funding. The book is a valuable tool for educators who want to improve their results and a reminder to parents and policy makers that we should never expect less."
—Kati Haycock, President
The Education Trust
Radically reform your school and improve academic achievement using readily accessible resources!
At a time when the United States is struggling with far-reaching educational reform, school leaders need a blueprint for dramatically improving student success and supporting those efforts by effectively reallocating and managing available resources.
Doubling Student Performance combines the latest research with the authors' national study of diverse schools that were able to significantly boost student achievement. Strategies focus on reducing class size, promoting professional development, locating necessary funding, and providing academic support to struggling students. School leaders will find:
Examples and case studies that include high-minority and high-poverty schools
10 key strategies for dramatically increasing student achievement, such as setting ambitious goals and emphasizing a collaborative culture
Clear steps and specific tools to successfully reallocate resources
This book is a valuable tool for educators and policy makers who understand that reform is only possible when schools have the human and financial resources to do it.
Contents
Acknowledgements
Preface
1. Places That Have Doubled Student Performance
Rural Districts and Schools that have Doubled Perfo
Rosalia, Washington
Abbotsford, Wisconsin
Doubling Student Performance at the Advanced Level: Monroe, Wisconsin
Monroe school district improvement process
Other Rural Examples
Medium Sized Districts
The Madison, Wisconsin Story
Kennewick, Washington
LaCrosse, Wisconsin
Columbus School in Appleton, Wisconsin
Doubling Performance in High Minority, High Poverty Schools
2. The Stimulus for Change and the Educational Change Process
Pressure from Multiple Sources to Improve Student Achievement
Pressure from State-Standards Based Reform
Pressure from District Administrators
Pressure from Within the School
Pressure from the Federal Government
The Large-Scale Organizational Change Process
Laying the Foundation for Change
Creating a New Educational Strategy
Implementation, Monitoring and Continuous Improvement
3. Ten Steps to Double Student Performance
Step 1: Understanding the Performance Problem and Challenge
Step 2: Set Ambitious Goals
Step 3: Change the Curriculum Program and Create a New Instructional Vision
Step 4: Formative Assessments and Data-Based Decision-Making
Step 5: Ongoing, Intensive Professional Development
Step 6: Using Time Efficiently and Effectively
Step 7: Extending Learning Time for Struggling Students
Step 8: Collaborative, Professional Culture
Step 9: Widespread and Distributed Instructional Leadership
Step 10: Professional and Best Practices
Summary and Conclusions
4. Reducing Class Size
Resources at School Sites
Reallocating Resources to Reduce Elementary Class Size
School-Wide Strategies to Reduce Class Sizes
A District wide Strategy to Reduce Class Size in Early Elementary Grades
Summary
5. Finding Resources for Professional Development
Resources Needed for an Effective Professional Development Program
A Professional Development Fiscal and Program Audit
Doubling Performance Districts
Using Extant Professional Development Days Effectively
Planning and Professional Development Time
Summary
6. Funding Extra-Help Strategies
Individual and Small-Group Tutoring for Struggling Students
Extended Time for Struggling Students to Learn the Core Curriculum
Summer School Program Focused on Core Instruction
7. Linking Resources Needed to Double Performance
Finance Adequacy
Approaches to School Finance Adequacy
Evidence-Based Approach to School Finance Adequacy
References
Index
