Comprehensive School Reform

The National Science Foundation has funded the Pittsburgh Public Schools’ Local Systemic Change (LSC) and Urban Systemic Programs in K–12 mathematics and science. EDC is performing an evaluation of the programs. The evaluation is formative, shaping the work of teachers, teacher leaders, and administrators, and summative, looking at the impact of the work on teaching, learning, and district policies.

CSA is the community-mobilization component of USAID/Ghana’s Quality Improvement in Primary Schools program, an initiative under Ghana’s Free Compulsory University Basic Education program. CSA aims to improve community participation in more than 300 primary schools throughout Ghana. This highly participatory effort strives to build an environment of mutual respect, responsibility, and action among community members, schools, and education administrators as they work to meet the learning needs of Ghanaian children.

The National Forum, which was based at EDC from 1997 to 2005, is now an independent organization. Visit the Forum’s Web site for current contact information.

The K–12 MCC provides a variety of services and products to support school districts around the country as they select and implement standards-based mathematics curricula. Implementation issues considered include transitions across grades K through 12, professional development, and building support for curriculum change. Resources include a series of seminars, print materials, (including a curriculum selection guide), case materials, and a Web site.

The Researching the Sustainability of Reform (RSR) project focused on the question of how to maintain the gains of an initial educational change process and support continuing reform over time. By studying nine communities that had sustained hands-on science program for 5–30 years, the research identified fifteen factors that support and/or inhibit the sustainbility of reform. The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and was conducted by CSE staff in collaboration with the Caltech Pre-College Science Initiative.

NEIR*TEC helps state and local educational leaders address the many challenges involved in using technology effectively, emphasizing the needs of schools in underserved urban and rural communities. NEIR*TEC, one of 10 regional technology-in-education consortia, serves the six New England states, New York, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.

The Lorain City School District’s Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) project provides professional development, career development, college awareness activities, and summer school programming in support of six SLCs. EDC conducts a project evaluation that focuses on changes in student performance attributable to the project and the degree of integration of professional development in the classroom.

Focus on Mathematics increases student achievement and teacher quality by providing teachers with solid content-based professional development, students with rigorous courses and curricula, and by establishing a mathematical community in which mathematicians and pre-college educators work together to improve mathematics education in grades 5 through 12. This project is a National Science Foundation Targeted Math and Science Partnership.

The purpose of this study is to gather data about struggling readers with learning disabilities from mid-sized urban school districts in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire. The project answers the following questions: (1) What diagnostic assessments are administered to students with identified learning disabilities who are struggling readers (e.g., fall below the Basic level on standardized tests) to determine their strengths and needs with respect to foundation skills (e.g., phonemic awareness, knowledge of high frequency sight words, and decoding ability)?

The twin goals of the SmART Schools program are to strengthen the place of the arts as a core academic subject and to strengthen the use of high-quality, standards-based arts in other academic subjects. This two- year grant allows FSC to fully implement the SmART program in three Vermont schools, located in three different Vermont regions.