Districts in Research and Reform AERA SIG

Where to Find Updated Information on the Districts in Research and Reform SIG

2020-10-29T13:35:00.005-04:00

For updated information on the Districts in Research and Reform SIG, please visit us at our page on the AERA website.

AERA 2014 Districts in Research and Reform SIG Invited Session

2014-03-28T20:19:00.000-04:00

Reflections on the Portfolio Reform Model as an Urban District Reform: The Philadelphia Case

Sunday, April 6th - 8:15 to 10:15am
Convention Center, 100 Level, 111B

Featuring an outstanding set of panelists:
• Eva Gold (formerly of Research For Action)
• Paul Kihn (Deputy Superintendent, School District of Philadelphia)
• Robin Lake (Director, Center on Reinventing Public Education)
• Pauline Lipman (University of Illinois at Chicago), and
• Rand Quinn (University of Pennsylvania)

Chaired by Tina Trujillo (University of California, Berkeley)

Scholars, district leaders, policy makers, and community members are looking to Philadelphia’s experiences under the portfolio model of reform. Philadelphia’s experiences can provide lessons for how market mechanisms function within the public school system; how privatized management, charter school conversions, and school closures impact local communities; and how a big-city district manages multiple providers. This invited panel brings together leading experts on the political, cultural, organizational, and technical dimensions of Philadelphia's experiences. They will reflect on the state of the district today, how it has evolved over the last decade, and future implications for Philadelphia’s schools and communities. Each panelist will consider issues that merit further research on this increasingly common urban district reform.

2013 SIG Business Meeting and Speaking Panel

2013-04-16T12:30:00.002-04:00

Please join us! During AERA 2013, the Districts in Research and Reform SIG will address annual business matters (awards) and will host invited speakers for a discussion about districts and communities partnering to focus on issues of equity to serve students’ academic and non-academic needs, and the role of researchers in supporting this work.

Districts and Communities:
Centering Equity in Policy, Research, and Reform

2013 AERA Annual Meeting Saturday, April 27, 2013; 6:15 p.m.–7:45 p.m.

Park 55 Hotel, San Francisco, CA Fourth Level - Mission II & III

Light refreshments will be served

Speakers include:

Kyla Johnson-Trammell - Associate Superintendent, Leadership, Curriculum, and Instruction Oakland Unified School District
Jason Willis - Assistant Superintendent, Community Engagement and Accountability San Jose Unified School District
Warren Simmons - Executive Director, Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University

Please contact the SIG Co-chairs for additional information: Jacob Mishook (jacob_mishook@brown.edu) or Kyo Yamashiro (kyo@laeri.org)

Outstanding Dissertation Award Nominations

2012-11-13T10:12:00.000-05:00

The Districts in Research and Reform SIG will be honoring a recent doctoral candidate whose dissertation reflects the SIG goals of promoting research that features central office administrators/school board members as main actors in reform or that considers educational reforms and practices that are districtwide in nature. In keeping with this year's conference theme, "Education and Poverty," we particularly encourage dissertations that consider issues of educational inequality.

The award —to be presented at our 2013 AERA Business Meeting in San Francisco— will be given for an outstanding dissertation defended in the past two years (July 2010-August 2012). The individual submitting the nomination will need to forward an electronic copy of his/her dissertation (or three hard copies, if electronic version is unavailable) to the Awards Committee along with the nomination form (attached). Nominators or nominees do not need to be SIG members, but we encourage all to join. We also accept self-nominations.

SIG Executive Board member Tina Trujillo is serving as this year's Awards Chair. Please direct all questions, nominations, and materials to:

Tina M. Trujillo
Graduate School of Education
3649 Tolman Hall
University of California
Berkeley, CA 94720
trujillo@berkeley.edu

AERA 2012 Photos

2012-04-26T09:03:00.002-04:00

Presentation of one of the 2012 SIG Publication Awards to Jeff Henig by Jacob Mishook

Panel Presentation During SIG Business Session at AERA 2012

2012 SIG Business Meeting and Speaking Panel

2012-04-05T09:41:00.002-04:00

Please join the Districts in Research and Reform SIG for a speaking panel at our business meeting at AERA focused on: District-Research Partnerships: Making Research Actionable. The Districts in Research and Reform SIG will address annual business matters (awards) and will host invited speakers for a discussion about informing district policy and practice through district-related partnerships. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be served. Speakers include:

Penny Bender Sebring
Founding Co-Director, Consortium on Chicago School Research

Jennifer O'Day
American Institutes for Research
Chair, California Collaborative on District Reform

Kyo Yamashiro
Executive Director, Los Angeles Education Research Institute

Date/Time/Location:
Friday, April 13, 2012
6:15 p.m.-7:45 p.m.
Marriott Pinnacle, Vancouver, BC
Third Level - Shaughnessy II

District Related Research Update

2012-03-19T13:30:00.000-04:00

Thank you to members who sent in updates on their latest research, whether it be dissertations, new studies, reports, books, or articles. It's another reminder of the dynamic and varied work that the SIG membership is engaged in. Make sure to take a look at the current SIG research update, where you'll find submissions from members on work done and/or published in 2011. (from Jacob Mishook)

Elected SIG Leadership

2012-03-17T13:30:00.000-04:00

On behalf of the SIG Steering Committee and the membership, I'd like to congratulate our newly-elected officers.

SIG Co-Chair: Jacob Mishook, from the Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University, has served on the SIG Steering Committee for several years and has been Acting Co-Chair and Awards Committee Chair this year. He will take the Co-Chair position on after the Annual Meeting of AERA this year, and will serve a two-year term.

SIG Treasurer/Secretary: Alan J. Daly, from the University of California San Diego, has served on the SIG Steering Committee for several years as well, and has served as Acting Treasurer this year and has served as Awards Committee Chair in past years. He will take the Treasurer/Secretary role after the Annual Meeting of AERA this year and serve a one-year term.

In addition, we want to recognize a new faculty member to the SIG Steering Committee, Tina Trujilo, Assistant Professor from the University of California, Berkeley, and our two graduate student representatives to the SIG Steering Committee, Christopher Cox, from Miami University of Ohio, and Joelle Rodway Macri, from the University of Toronto.

We greatly appreciate the past and continued service of our new officers, and welcome our new Steering Committee members. We look forward to the ongoing work of bringing together researchers and practitioners around critical issues of district research and reform.

We hope to see many of you in Vancouver. We have some interesting sessions on the schedule this year, and an exciting panel planned for the Business Meeting that will include a special discussion with representatives from district-research partnerships around the country. More information to follow.

Sincerely,

Kyo Yamashiro
SIG Co-Chair

New work on school boards, district reform, and consolidation

2010-03-18T16:49:00.003-04:00

I just received a research update from SIG member Tom Alsbury, an associate professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at North Carolina State University. His work has focused on school board governance, district reform, and school consolidation. Thanks for the update, Tom!

Alsbury, T. L.(Ed.). (2008). The future of school board governance: Relevancy and revelation. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Alsbury, T. L. (2008). School board politics and student achievement. In T. L. Alsbury (Ed.) Relevancy and revelation: The future of school board governance. [pp. 247-272] Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Alsbury, T. L. (2008). Promoting sustainable leadership within the reform system. In B. Hand (Ed.), Science inquiry, argument and language: A case for the science writing heuristic [177-194]. Rotterdam, Netherlands: Sense.

Alsbury, T. L. (2007). Systemic variables influencing scaling and succession in district reform efforts: An empirical study. In B. Despres (Ed.), System thinkers in actions: A field guide for effective change leadership in education [pp. 135-175]. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.

Refereed Journal Articles:

Haddad, M. A., & Alsbury, T. L. (2008). Using spatial analyses to examine student proficiency: Guiding district consolidation and reform policy decisions. Planning & Changing, 39 (1 & 2), 98-126.

Alsbury, T. L. (2008). School board member and superintendent turnover and the influence on student achievement: An application of the Dissatisfaction Theory. Leadership & Policy in Schools, 7(2), 202-229.

Alsbury, T. L., & Shaw, N. (2005) Policy implications for social justice in school consolidation. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 4(2), 105-126.

A Bridge Between Worlds

2010-03-18T16:33:00.002-04:00

A recent article in the Journal of Educational Change by SIG board members Alan Daly and Kara Finnigan examined the impact of underlying social networks among central office and site leaders in NCLB-influenced reform efforts. The abstract is below, and the full article can be found at the journal's website.

Daly, A. J., & Finnigan, K. S. (2009). A bridge between worlds: understanding network structure to understand change strategy. Journal of Educational Change.

Abstract A number of scholars are exploring district and site relations in organizational change efforts in the larger policy context of No Child Left Behind. These studies suggest the importance of the central office as a support to the work of reform and offer strategies for building relations between district offices and sites in order to implement and sustain change efforts. What is frequently overlooked in these studies is that organizational change efforts are often socially constructed. Therefore, examining the underlying social networks may provide insight into structures that support or constrain efforts at change. This exploratory case study uses social network analysis and interviews to examine the communication and knowledge network structures of central office and site leaders in an ‘in need of improvement’ district facing sanctions under No Child Left Behind. Findings indicate sparse ties among and between school site and central office administrators, as well as a centralized network structure that may constrain the exchange of complex information and ultimately inhibit efforts at change.

2010 Research Update

2010-02-09T15:09:00.004-05:00

Dear District in Research and Reform members,

Thanks to the many members who sent in recent research focused on research on districts. Below is a list of the research published since December 2008. Also, please keep an eye out for an upcoming request for your district-focused AERA papers, roundtables, posters, and symposia.

Jacob

Anderson, Stephen E. & Rodway-Macri, Joelle (2009). District administrator perspectives on student learning in an era of standards and accountability: A collective frame analysis. Canadian J. of Education 32(2), pp. 192-221.

Our analysis explores the agenda for student learning communicated in interviews with school district officials from four Ontario districts. Using research methods drawn from collective action framing theory, we identified six core frames and one broader frame in the discourse on student learning: (a) measureable academic achievement, (b) personalized preparation for postsecondary destinations, (c) a well-rounded education, (d) personal development, (e) faith/values based education, (f) social identity development, and (g) developing the whole child (the broader frame). The analysis highlights the administrators’ advocacy for a more encompassing educational agenda than that mandated by government curriculum and accountability policies, and the utility of framing theory for education policy analysis.

Boggess. L. (in press; anticipated 2010). Tailoring New Urban Teachers for Character and Activism. American Education Research Journal.

This two-site, qualitative case study examined how the Chicago and Boston Public School districts alternatively prepared new teachers through partnerships with private, non-profit urban teacher residencies. Drawing on urban regime analysis and resource dependence theory, the study asked how the reform partners defined “teacher quality” and how the structure of their partnerships contributed to those meanings. The study produced findings indicating participants’ preferences for varying types of professional dispositions considered essential to teacher quality. The study considered the implications of reform partners “tailoring” teachers to possess specific sets of dispositions in order to fulfill ideal constructions of teacher quality and meet the instructional needs of each district.

Goldstein, J. (in press; anticipated February 2010). Peer Review and Teacher Leadership: Linking Professionalism and Accountability. New York: Teachers College Press. Forward by Pat Wasley, Afterword by Susan Moore Johnson.

This book examines a policy that is one of the most powerful levers to improve teaching quality and advance teaching as a profession. Jennifer Goldstein presents the story of Rosemont, an urban district in California that created “professional accountability” with peer assistance and review (PAR), an alternative approach to teacher evaluation in which expert teachers evaluate their teacher peers. It challenges a number of long-held beliefs and practices in education— adversarial labor relations, “being nice,” hierarchy, isolation, and negligence—to achieve very different teacher evaluation outcomes. This timely and accessible volume:

• Chronicles a rare case of a teacher union and school district partnering to improve teacher quality and teacher evaluation.
• Presents the most detailed study of PAR implementation, including its processes, challenges, and outcomes.
• Summarizes the state of PAR implementation across the country in an afterword by Susan Moore Johnson.

Padilla, C., Tiffany-Morales, J., Bland, J., & Anderson, L. (in press; anticipated January 2010). Evaluation of California’s District Intervention and Capacity Building Initiative: Findings and Lessons Learned. Menlo Park, CA: SRI International.

The final report from SRI International’s evaluation of this foundation-sponsored initiative, created in part as a response to the NCLB requirement to provide a statewide system of support to districts and schools identified for improvement, encompasses 2 years of data collection (2007-08 and 2008-09) in 15 diverse districts across the state. Drawing on early research conducted on effective district capacity-building practices, California identified standards and criteria to guide the work of technical assistance providers under the state’s new district intervention process. Each pilot district had an assigned technical assistance team called a DAIT provider. The goal of the evaluation was to understand how effective the DAIT initiative was in building the capacity of districts to support improved student outcomes. Building district capacity represents a significant shift in how the state is working to address problems associated with school reform. Not only is the focus on the district, as opposed to the school, to improve curriculum and instruction, but the DAIT process also addresses building the capacity of district leadership to support program and policy coherence. Our analysis of the pilot districts identifies implementation successes and challenges and shows mixed results in terms of student outcomes (when compared with a matched set of comparison districts). Our analysis also raises questions about the readiness of districts to accept this type of assistance. (Findings from this evaluation will be presented as part of an interactive symposium at the 2010 AERA meeting.)

Park, V., & Datnow, A. (2009). Co-constructing distributed leadership: District and school connections in data-driven decision making. School Leadership and Management, 29(5), 475-492.

The purpose of this paper is to examine leadership practices in school systems that are implementing data-driven decision-making employing the theory of distributed leadership. With the advent of No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) in the US, educational leaders are now required to analyse, interpret and use data to make informed decisions in all areas of education, ranging from professional development to student learning. The emphasis on data-driven decision-making practices to bring about improved student outcomes is relatively a new feature of the education reform landscape and thus requires educators to learn and develop new competencies. Leadership is one crucial bridge that can support and direct these new learning efforts. Using qualitative data from a case study of four urban school systems, the authors’ findings indicate that : (1) leaders at all levels co-constructed the vision and implementation of productive data driven decision-making by creating an ethos of learning and continuous improvement rather than one of blame; (2) in order to give data relevance, leaders also distributed decision-making authority in a manner that empowered different staff members to utilise their expertise; and (3) the school systems directed their resources on building human and social capacity mainly by focusing on modelling and knowledge brokering amongst their staff. The paper concludes with a discussion of research and policy implications based on the findings.

Stringfield, S., Reynolds, D., & Schaffer, E. (2008). Improving secondary students' academic achievement through a focus on reform reliability: 4- and 9-year findings from the High Reliability Schools project. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 19(4), 409-428.

The authors describe a reform effort in which characteristics derived from High Reliability Organization research were used to shape whole school reform. Longitudinal analyses of outcome data from 12 Welsh secondary schools indicated that 4 years after the effort was initiated, student outcomes at the sites were strongly positive. Additional quantitative and qualitative data, gathered 5 years after the end of the intervention, indicated that the majority of the schools continued using the high reliability principles and continued making strong academic progress. Results are discussed in terms of the original High Reliability Schools model, systemic effects, and sustainability.

Talbert, J. E. (In press), “Professional learning communities at the crossroads: How systems hinder or engender change.” In M. Fullan, A. Hargreaves, A. Lieberman, and D Hopkins (Eds), International Handbook of Educational Change, Second Edition,. Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Springer Press.

Evidence that teacher collaboration on instruction results in improved student outcomes, beyond those achieved by teachers working in isolation, has generated a Professional Learning Community (PLC) movement. School districts across the nation are trying to "scale up" PLCs. This chapter focuses on the problem of changing the professional culture of teaching toward PLC norms of collaboration, focus on student learning, and mutual accountability. Drawing upon a decade of research on PLC initiatives, I contrast bureaucratic and professional strategies for change and teachers' responses to each. Conclusions highlight both positive outcomes of professional strategies and the need for school systems to manage dynamic tensions between the two perspectives and resources for change.

Terry Grier news

2009-03-27T10:27:00.003-04:00

Our District SIG business meeting guest, San Diego superintendent Dr. Terry Grier, was recently the subject of a San Diego Union Tribune article.

From the article:

Terry Grier has overseen nearly a quarter-billion dollars in budget cuts since he took the helm of the San Diego school district a year ago today.

Not exactly the best way for a new leader to make friends and ingratiate himself with about 9,000 teachers and the families of 130,000 students.

Against the recommendations of his closest advisers, Grier left North Carolina for the top post with the San Diego Unified School District amid a daunting state budget crisis that has followed him to this day.

Through it all, he helped shepherd the successful passage of the Proposition S bond measure to build and repair schools, initiate several reforms that target struggling students and revamp a central office mired in inefficiency.

As a reminder, the Districts in Research and Reform SIG Business Meeting (titled, "A Conversation with Terry Grier, Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District") is taking place on Tuesday evening, April 14th, from 6:15-7:45PM, at the San Diego Marriott Hotel and Marina, in the Columbia 3 room. Hope to see you there.

AERA Sessions on District Reform

2009-03-25T15:34:00.003-04:00

Dear SIG members:

Below you will find a list of AERA papers and sessions related to district reform. It includes a number of sessions involving SIG members, and also other presentations related to districts and district reform. Please note the Districts in Research and Reform session on Tuesday afternoon and the SIG Business Meeting on Tuesday evening.

Stay tuned for more information on AERA, including a guide to San Diego by SIG officers (and locals) Alan Daly and Kyo Yamashiro!

Monday, April 13

The Need for Research Versus the Fact of Paper Cuts

Scheduled Time: Mon, Apr 13 - 12:00pm - 1:30pm

Building/Room: Omni San Diego / Salon A

Session Participants:

Participant: Elizabeth A. Holtzapple (Cincinnati Public Schools - OH)

Participant: Richard G. Peters (Indianapolis Public Schools - IN)

Participant: John C Ritzler (South Bend Community School Corporation)

Discussant: Dale Whittington (Shaker Heights City School District)

Discussant: Jonathan A. Supovitz (University of Pennsylvania)

Chair: Arie J. van der Ploeg (Learning Point Associates)

Participant: Bryan Chumbley (Peoria (IL) School District 150)

Participant: Jay Marino (Cedar Rapids (IA) Community School District)

Participant: Kurt Kiefer (Madison (WI) Metropolitan School District)

Abstract:

There are some 50

U.S.

public school districts that enroll more than 60,000 PreK-12 students. These very large urban districts attract much attention and considerable external resources. The 500 or so districts enrolling 15,000 to 60,000 students each, on the other hand, receive very little attention or support. Typically, for all assessment, evaluation, research, and accountability functions these districts rely on just one professional. Is it possible to create and maintain disciplined inquiry in these circumstances? Six directors of research and evaluation in smaller districts will outline how they create opportunities for inquiry and engagement with data, in contexts of isolation, rotating leadership, declining resources, and far too frequent paper cuts.

Challenges of Scaling Up: Advancing Research and Improving District and School Programs of Partnerships

Scheduled Time: Mon, Apr 13 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 16B

District Leadership and School Reform: Studying the Sustainability of Programs of Partnerships

*Mavis G. Sanders (The Johns Hopkins University)

District Leadership on Partnerships: Program Development and Effects Over 3 Years

*Joyce L. Epstein (Johns Hopkins University), Claudia Lucia Galindo (University of Maryland - Baltimore County)

Chair: Claudia Lucia Galindo (University of Maryland - Baltimore County)

Discussant: Carol Garman (Chino Valley School District)

Discussant: Jeana M. Preston (San Diego State University)

Abstract:

New studies are presented from a five-year project funded by NICHD to “scale up” an intervention model of family and community involvement and improve research on its effects. Two studies focus on school-based partnerships to assess the benefits of family involvement with students on homework in the elementary and middle grades and to identify the influences of family involvement on students’ motivation and achievement in school. Two studies focus on district leadership to identify district demographic, organizational, and support conditions that affect progress in partnership program development and to understand factors that influence the sustainability of these programs. The four studies use data from economically, racially, and linguistically diverse schools and communities to improve knowledge on partnership programs and effects.

Tuesday, April 14

The Implications of NCLB for a Board of Education Student-Centered Decision-Making Policy in an Elementary District

Scheduled Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 8:15am - 10:15am

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 21
In Session: Influences Over Control and Decision Making

Authors:

*Anisha D. Dalal (San Diego Unified School District)

*Jose Francisco Escobedo (South Bay Union School District)

Brian Bristol (South Pasadena Unified School District)

Janet A. Chrispeels (University of California - San Diego)

Abstract:

The purpose of this study was to explore how a 1998 board of education adopted inquiry process supported by extensive staff development influenced the practices of six diverse schools in a K-6 elementary district ten years after the policy was adopted. The findings showed that the schools, ranging from charter to new schools, were remarkably consistent in their adherence to the board policy to focus on student learning by examining student work and altering instructional practices. The findings also indicated that as NCLB pressures were mounting to have all students at proficiency, these schools seemed to be shifting from a student learning to an accountability culture focused on test results.

Thinking Outside the Box: Integrating Ideas From Outside of Education Into School District Improvement Efforts

Scheduled Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 8:15am - 9:45am

Building/Room: Manchester Grand Hyatt / Manchester Ballroom - Section E

In Session: Exploring the Dynamics of Educational Leadership: The School Climate, Strategic Efforts, and Systematic Assessments

Author:

*Lee Teitel (Harvard University)

Abstract:

In 2006, eight urban districts began a well-funded, concerted, three-year effort to dramatically increase instructional quality. Based at a major research university, the initiative deliberately went beyond the university’s school of education to draw on the conceptual frameworks, tools, and faculty from its schools of business and government. The proposed paper draws on a range of qualitative and quantitative data to describe the resulting integrated program, tell the case stories of the districts- what each of them, at different start points and in different organizational contexts, has taken from the initiative to apply to its own work. It concludes by synthesizing across the cases, and assessing impacts that an integrated approach like this one can have on districts improvement efforts.

District Teacher Training and Turnaround Reconstitution: Policy Synergy in Chicago

Scheduled Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 12:25pm - 1:05pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Ballroom 6A
In Session: PEA 40th Anniversary Session: Politics of Education Governance and Accountability

Author:

*Laurence B. Boggess (The Pennsylvania State University)

Abstract:

This qualitative study examined how the Chicago Public School District partnered with an urban teacher residency authorized to alternatively train and certify the district’s teachers as well as staff and operate the district’s reconstituted schools. The district’s strategies for structuring the partnership included contractual bridging, proxy control. Findings suggested that the conditions of bridging and control 1) legitimized the urban teacher residency as a political actor; 2) influenced how reform partners defined “teacher quality;” 3) established the close proximity of private funders to teacher education, and 4) enhanced the district’s goal to tailor teachers to meet its needs. The study discussed implications of this synergistic reform policy in light of pending legislation in Congress to expand urban teacher residencies nationally.

Will the Use of Data Lead to Informed Decision Making as Policy Makers Assume?

Scheduled Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 17A

The District’s Role in Data-Informed Decision Making

Authors:

*Christine L. Padilla (SRI International)

Larry Gallagher (SRI International)

Abstract:

The purpose of this paper is to provide national estimates, along with examples of district data systems and tools, strategies used to promote data-informed decision making, district capacity needs, and barriers to expanding the use of data informed decision making.

Professional Development Needs for Data Literacy

*Angela Haydel Debarger (SRI International)

*Barbara M. Means (SRI International)

Eva Chen (SRI International)

Abstract:

Without data skills, teachers are ill prepared to use data effectively to provide instruction that matches students’ needs. Understanding the nature of teachers’ proficiencies and difficulties in data literacy is an important consideration in designing data-informed decision-making processes and sheds light on gaps in teacher education and professional development programs. To provide insights into areas of teacher strength and weakness with respect to using data, data scenarios were developed to probe teachers’ ability to engage in various aspects of data interpretation and use. This paper will focus on the results of this work over a two-year period.

The other is a Symposium that I am chairing on Tuesday 12:15 to 1:55, The title is Managing Multiple Reforms: Avoiding a Tragedy of the Commons. Location: Omni San Diego, Room Salon B,

Managing Multiple Reforms: Avoiding a Tragedy of the Commons

Scheduled Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 12:25pm - 1:55pm

Building/Room: Omni San Diego / Salon B

Session Participants:

District Assistance and Intervention Team: California State Reform Initiative for Underperforming Districts

*Keith Nuthall (San Diego County Office of Education)

Reading First Implementation: Assurances and Expanding Expectations

*M Kathleen Okeefe-Morris (Rock Springs Elemenatry)

Effective Schools for the 21st Century: Building Leadership Team Capacity

*Peggy H. Burke (University of Michigan - Flint)

Teachers’ Perceptions of School Reform and the DAIT Process

*Kyle Curtis Ruggles (University of California - San Diego)

Guarding and Supporting the Resources of the Commons: The Role of Linkages in District Reform Efforts

*Peggy Eileen Johnson (California State University - Northridge)

Understanding District Reform Through Professional Network Structures

*Alan J. Daly (University of California - San Diego), Jose Manuel Bolivar (University of California - San Diego)

Chair: Janet A. Chrispeels (University of California - San Diego)

Discussant: Thomas C. Hatch (Teachers College)

Discussant: Jennifer Walters (Escondido Union School District)

Abstract:

In response to increasing pressures to reach NCLB targets, school districts often adopt and enact multiple reform initiatives simultaneously. Although multiple pathways are needed to help all students meet standards, conflicting theories of action from these reforms may deplete administrators and teachers’ energy and time—leading to a tragedy of the commons. This interactive symposium will explore how one district is avoiding overload and managing diverse reform initiatives. A panel of practitioners/change agents will share the theory of action of three reforms and explore how each is influencing and interacting with the other. Then a panel of three researchers, exploring the reforms from multiple theories and research methods will share findings regarding how these reforms are unfolding and interacting.

Beyond Accountability: Making Data-Informed Decisionmaking Work Toward District Reform

SIG-Districts in Research and Reform

Scheduled Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 4:05pm - 5:35pm Building/Room: San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina / Solana
Title Displayed in Event Calendar: Beyond Accountability: Making Data-Informed Decisionmaking Work Toward District Reform

Session Participants:

Data Use in the Context of District Leadership for Learning Improvement

*Michael S. Knapp (University of Washington)

Districts Supporting Data-Informed Decision Making

*Christine L. Padilla (SRI International), *Barbara M. Means (SRI International), Larry Gallagher (SRI International)

School Strategies for Using Data in the Absence of District Support

*Viki M. Young (SRI International), *Carlin Llorente (SRI International)

Anchoring District Reform to Continuous Data Use: The Case of Long Beach Unified School District

*Christine Dominquez (Long Beach Unified School District), *Jill Baker (Long Beach Unified School District)

Chair: Jeff Wayman (University of Texas - Austin)

Discussant: Katherine Conoly (Corpus Christi Independent School District)

Abstract:

The use of student data for education decision making has been fueled by NCLB legislation and spurred district personnel to explore methods for effective uses of this data. As the use of data has become more common, districts are also faced with the challenges of providing the necessary supports to establish effective data use at different levels of the system. Despite a growing research base, there is much work yet to be done in studying methods for efficient use of data throughout the district. This interactive symposium should provide practical knowledge to practitioners and researchers alike.

A Conversation With Terry Grier, Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District

SIG-Districts in Research and Reform

Scheduled Time: Tue, Apr 14 - 6:15pm - 7:45pm

Building/Room: San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina / Columbia 3
Title Displayed in Event Calendar: A Conversation With Terry Grier, Superintendent of San Diego Unified School District

Session Participants:

Chair: Terry Grier (San Diego Unified School District)

Abstract:

Superintendent Grier will participate in a facilitated conversation about the future of school districts and the challenges of district wide reform. All AERA members are welcome to attend.

Wednesday, April 15

Pushing the Boundaries of District-University Relationships for Quality Leadership Preparation: Five Case Lessons

Scheduled Time: Wed, Apr 15 - 10:35am - 12:05pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 17A
Title Displayed in Event Calendar: Pushing the Boundaries of District-University Relationships for Quality Leadership Preparation: Five Case Lessons

Session Participants:

Chair: Margaret Terry Orr (Bank Street College of Education)

Defining the Knowledge Base for Leadership Preparation

*Margaret Terry Orr (Bank Street College of Education), Jacob Easley II (Mercy College)

Creating a Bridge Within a Continuum of Leadership Development: Fort Wayne, Indiana

*Margaret E. Barber (Lehigh University), Tricia Browne-Ferrigno (University of Kentucky)

Complex Partnering: Boston, Massachusetts

*Brian T. Lord (Education Development Center, Inc.), Cheryl L. King (Education Development Center, Inc.)

Collaborating Amidst District Turbulence: St. Louis, Missouri

*Jacob Easley II (Mercy College), Carolyn J. Riehl (Teachers College, Columbia University)

Fitting Leadership Preparation Into High-Stakes District Reform: Providence, Rhode Island

*Michelle LaPointe (Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast and Islands - Education Development Center), Charlotte North (Education Development Center, Inc.)

Discussant: Tricia Browne-Ferrigno (University of Kentucky)

Abstract:

This proposed symposium addresses the relationship between university-based leadership preparation programs and school districts in developing school and district leaders who can effectively facilitate school improvement, especially in low-performing schools. The symposium will be organized around a case-based discussion of five relationship issues, drawn from five district-university case studies and exploring the challenging social/political contexts and supportive dynamics for these relationships to endure. These are: defining the knowledge-based in leadership preparation; bridging leadership development experiences post-preparation; collaborating amidst district turbulence; complex partnering; and fitting leadership preparation into high stakes district reform. The cross-case discussion explores the challenges and the possibilities for reframing future leadership preparation, particularly for high need educational communities.

A “Three-Legged Stool” of Education Reform: School District, Foundation, and University Collaboration

Scheduled Time: Wed, Apr 15 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Building/Room: Manchester Grand Hyatt / Manchester Ballroom - Section C
In Session: Educational Policy, Practice, Research: Schools and Society

Authors:

*Michelle B. Nayfack (University of Southern California)

*Cecilia Huynh Sam (University of Southern California)

*Priscilla Wohlstetter (University of Southern California)

Abstract:

Education reform implementation is no longer the sole purview of school districts or individual schools. A new paradigm is emerging in which reform efforts are implemented through collaboration among stakeholders with different assets, skills, and outlooks working toward a common goal. This paper explores the new roles of three stakeholders that traditionally operate independently—school districts, foundations, and universities—when they collaborate to implement reform initiatives. Borrowing from McGrath, Donovan, Schaier-Peleg and Buskirk’s (2005) collaboration framework, this paper explores the benefits of such collaboration. This research builds empirical knowledge on the outcomes of collaboration among distinct but complimentary stakeholders and also contributes to a more robust theoretical understanding of effective reform implementation strategies.

Thursday, April 16

School Autonomy Initiatives in Urban Districts: Design, Consequences, and Tensions

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 8:15am - 9:45am

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 17A

Session Participants:

Learning From the Past: Assessing Current School Autonomy Initiatives Using Lessons From Site-Based Management Research

*Lydia Rainey (Center for Reinventing Public Education)

Zoned for Change: A Historical Case Study of the Los Angeles Unified School District's Belmont Zone of Choice

*Ramon Antonio Martinez (University of California - Los Angeles), Karen H. Quartz (University of California - Los Angeles)

Mandating Autonomy: Inside the New Decentralization in New York City Public Schools

*Joseph P. McDonald (New York University), Leslie Santee Siskin (New York University)

Managing Autonomy: The Participation of School District Central Offices in the Implementation of New, Small Autonomous Schools Initiatives*Meredith I. Honig (University of Washington)

Chair: Meredith I. Honig (University of Washington)
Discussant: Betty Malen (University of Maryland)

Abstract:

Recently, urban school districts nationwide have launched what some education policymakers characterize as an innovation in public educational governance: significant initiatives to increase school autonomy as a key strategy for leveraging educational improvement. What if anything distinguishes these autonomy initiatives from other previous efforts to rethink educational governance? How are these initiatives faring? This symposium’s papers draw on rich theoretical frameworks from various disciplines and empirical research findings to make sense of the design, consequences, and tensions of school autonomy as a strategy for improving schools, central offices, and district systems. Findings focus on Chicago, New York, Oakland, and Los Angeles.

Getting the Word Out or Reinventing the Wheel: Factors Shaping the Use of

Educational Research in School District Decision-Making

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 8:15am - 9:45am

Building/Room: San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina / San Francisco

In Session: Bridging the Gap Between Research and Practice

Author:

*Elizabeth N. Farley-Ripple (University of Delaware)

Abstract:

The current educational policy climate places immense pressure on school districts to use evidence to inform their decisions in order to improve student learning. While a great deal of attention is paid to the use of student performance data to inform instruction, largely termed data-driven decision-making, there exists an enormous body of research produced to support educational decision-making. In spite of these resources, the field of education still recognizes a gap between research and practice. This paper addresses this gap using data from a case study of a small urban school district central office to explore the role of educational research in curricular and instructional decision-making and the factors that influence its use. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Building District Capacity: Taking Instructional Improvement to Scale in High-Poverty Schools

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 10:35am - 12:05pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 17A
In session: Scaling Up and Sustaining Educational Improvement Programs in 38 Schools in Six Districts in Five States

Authors:

Carol A. Barnes (University of Michigan), *Diane Massell (University of Michigan), Charles F. Vanover (University of Michigan)

Chair: James P. Spillane (Northwestern University)

Discussant: Cynthia E. Coburn (University of California - Berkeley)

Abstract:

This session uses findings from the case studies of the Study of Instructional Improvement (SII) to discuss one of the central issues in education policy and administration science: scaling up and sustaining externally designed improvement programs in high poverty schools. During the first half of the symposium we will discuss how the three improvement programs in our study influenced teachers’ and leaders’ work. Our discussion will focus on the design features and local resources (Cohen, Raudenbush, & Ball, 2003) that seemed to best support the work of school improvement in the classroom, the school, the district, and beyond. The second half of the symposium will be devoted to respondents’ critiques and dialogue with audience members about the possibilities for change.

Universities, Social Service Agencies, Early Care, Early Education Programs, and a School District Working Together to Improve Outcomes, PK-5: Formative Evaluation Results From Ready Schools Miami

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 10:35am - 12:05pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 16B

Session Participants:

Chair: Diane W. Kyle (University of Louisville)

Understanding Ready Schools Miami

*Alyson J. Adams (University of Florida), *Dorene D. Ross (University of Florida)

Improving Quality in Early Care and Education Centers

*Abby Thorman (Thorman Strategy Group)

Working Toward Systems Change: District as Context

*Valtena Brown (Miami-Dade County Public School System)

Improving Quality in Elementary Schools With the Lastinger Center for Learning Model

*Philip Emery Poekert (University of Florida), *Magdalena Castaneda (University of Florida)

Early Evidence of Impact of Ready Schools Miami

*Marjorie E. Wechsler (SRI International), *Shari Golan (SRI International)

Discussant: Julia Coffman (Harvard Family Research Project)

Abstract:

Ready Schools Miami is a comprehensive, multi-organization collaboration designed is to build an early learning system for birth through elementary school to improve children’s well-being and academic success. The purpose of this symposium is to bring together various perspectives on the Ready Schools initiative to describe its underlying theory, analyze the factors that enable and impede implementation, and understand the effects it is having on ECE and elementary school learning environments. The symposium is framed by the evaluation design menu for systems initiatives developed by The Build Initiative. Participants include representatives of the various organizations involved in program development and external evaluation consultants who have just completed a year one evaluation.

Inside/Outside: How School Systems and Community Organizations Negotiate Partnerships for Reform

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 12:25pm - 1:55pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 27A

Session Participants:

Community Organizing and District Collaborations: A Research Perspective

*Sara McAlister (Annenberg Institute for School Reform)

Hamilton County/Chattanooga Public Schools: Multiple Partnerships for Districtwide Reform

*Jesse Register (Annenberg Institute for School Reform)

Youth 4 Change: Bridging “Inside” and “Outside” Youth Engagement in Providence

*Adeola Oredola (Youth In Action)

Discussant: Richard Gray (Annenberg Institute for School Reform)

Chair: Sara McAlister (Annenberg Institute for School Reform)

Abstract:

A range of community organizations have taken on new roles in school reform, shifting from a peripheral role of outside advocates to become co-constructors of school and district practice. As community groups take on issues of curriculum, teacher quality, and school design, they have formed close partnerships with school systems that make careful negotiation of relationships important. While collaborations have enormous potential for transforming schools and districts, school systems and community organizations have different cultures and structures, are accountable to different constituencies, and are committed to separate sets of values. This panel will explore the ways organizations engaged in sustained collaborations with districts navigate these “insider” and “outsider” roles, and how districts relate to community partners and manage multiple collaborations.

Learning While Leading: Job-Embedded Professional Development for Central Office Leaders

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 4:05pm - 5:35pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 16A

In Session: Professional Development for Principals

Author:

*Juli Anna Lorton (University of Washington)

Abstract:

Drawing upon sociocultural and cognitive perspectives of learning, this paper examines the professional development experiences of five school district leaders in a mid-sized urban district in the Pacific Northwest. Working alongside external consultants, these leaders participated in job-embedded professional development opportunities, including assistance in planning monthly principal meetings, side-by-side modeling during classroom walkthroughs and one-on-one mentoring sessions. This paper illustrates how leaders participated in a learning-while-leading cycle, which highlights dynamic linkages between thinking and practice over time. Learning for these leaders was not an individual activity, rather, it occurred in the midst of social interactions with fellow district-level leaders, school-based staff, and external consultants.

Research on the Superintendency SIG: Learning to Lead, Leading as a Living, Learning to Live

SIG-Research on the Superintendency

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 4:05pm - 5:35pm

Building/Room: Omni San Diego / Balboa 3

Session Participants:

Variations in Superintendent Preparation in Three Contiguous States

*Theodore J. Kowalski (University of Dayton)

Metaphors for the Superintendency: An Interpretive Review of Case Studies

*Gary M. Ivory (New Mexico State University), *Dana E. Christman (New Mexico State University), *Marivel Oropeza (New Mexico State University), *Biniam Kahsay Tesfamariam (New Mexico State University)

A District-Level Disciplined Inquiry Leadership Process for Building Innovative Capacity

*Thomas L. Alsbury (North Carolina State University), *Andy Overstreet (North Carolina State University), *La Tefy G. Schoen (North Carolina State University), Shayla Mina Thomas (North Carolina State University), Bonnie Carol Fusarelli (North Carolina State University), Matthew C. Militello (North Carolina State University)

Understanding and Reducing Stress in the Superintendency: Whose Responsibility Is It?

*Nita Hawk (Whiteman Airforce Base), Barbara N. Martin (University of Central Missouri), *Doug Thomas (University of Central Missouri)

Compass: A Survival Guide for Contemporary School Superintendents Based on Real-World Experiences

*Walter S. Polka (Niagara University), *Peter R. Litchka (Loyola College)

Chair: Meredith L. Mountford (Florida Atlantic University)

Discussant: Thomas L. Alsbury (North Carolina State University)

Discussant: Doug Thomas (University of Central Missouri)

Abstract:

This session shares research findings about effective preparation programs for school superintendents, lived experiences of school superintendents, and research on ways in which leaders can learn to diminish the stress of leading in an era of severely limited resources and an overabundance of state and federal mandates.

A Statewide Investigation of District Leaders’ Perceptions of Forces That Complicate Efforts to Succeed

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 4:05pm - 5:35pm

Building/Room: Manchester Grand Hyatt / Manchester Ballroom - Section A
In Session: Meeting the Expectations of Stakeholders: Leaders Under the Microscope

Authors:

*George J. Petersen (California State Polytechnic University, Pomona)

*Vicki Kelly (San Luis Obispo County Office of Education)

*Catherine Reimer (Bradley Union School District & San Lucas Union School District)

*Daniel Mosunich (Atascadero Unified School District)

*Debra Thompson (Kern High School District)

Abstract:

This study explored the perspectives of 370 district leaders, from various sized school districts located throughout California in relation to their ability to support student learning while simultaneously addressing numerous and complex personnel, social, and economic challenges faced by schools. Specifically, this study investigated the attitudes and opinions of district leaders regarding the professional challenges they are confronted with as a result of declining enrollment, increases in English Learner populations, collective bargaining, reduced revenues, school-board activism, and greater emphasis on accountability and academic achievement, as well as the influence of these factors on the professional work, attention and leadership of district leaders.

Districts With Emerging ELL Communities: Demographic Change and Capacity Building Challenges in Rural Districts

Scheduled Time: Thu, Apr 16 - 4:05pm - 5:35pm

Building/Room: San Diego Marriott Hotel & Marina / Newport Beach
In Session: Minority and Special Populations in Rural Education

Author:

*Annette M. Zehler (Center for Applied Linguistics)

Abstract:

District administrators in emerging English language learner (ELL) communities face challenges that require a comprehensive response if ELL students are to be able to succeed. Yet, as one administrator notes, “The main block is not knowing what to do. . . . The change has been so incredibly rapid.” These districts face three challenges: understanding ELL students, understanding how to respond to rising ELL enrollments, and adapting to the pace of change with often very limited resources, without local access to specialized expertise. Analyses of enrollment data in three states document the pace of change many rural districts experience, and interview data indicate stages in capacity- building that represent different perspectives and needs in serving ELL students.

Friday, April 17

Investing in Human Capital: A Strategy for Urban District Reform

Scheduled Time: Fri, Apr 17 - 2:15pm - 3:45pm

Building/Room: San Diego Convention Center / Room 15A
In Session: School Leadership and Improvement: Enhancing the Learning Context

Authors:

*Merrill Vargo (Springboard Schools)

*Louise Waters (Leadership Public Schools)

Abstract:

Research on urban district reform has been hampered by the challenge of understanding the complexity of change in urban school systems. Improving this understanding through actionable, practice-based research is the purpose of the Comprehensive Aligned Instructional System (CAIS) study. This two-year, in-depth study of four districts, which was conducted by the Stupski Foundation and Springboard Schools in partnership with the Gates Foundation, began with the hypothesis that achieving districts align both their instructional systems and their systems to support instruction around a powerful equity goal and a clear vision of teaching and learning. This paper summarizes study findings about change strategies, including strategies to change culture and to build human capital.

Districts in Research and Reform Dissertation and Report Awards

2008-11-17T15:37:00.007-05:00

2009 AERA District SIG Awards

Outstanding Dissertation Award and Outstanding Research Report Award

Call for Nominations

The District Special Interest Group of the American Educational Research Association wishes to honor authors who reflect the SIG mission to promote research and dialogue featuring district central office administrators and/or school board members as key actors in school reform.

The 2009 award—to be presented at the 2009 AERA District SIG Business Meeting—is given for an outstanding dissertation and/or an outstanding research report completed during the previous two years (June 2006-August 2008). The SIG defines “research report” as any completed scholarly product, meeting standards of high-quality educational research, submitted (for example) to a research agency, posted online, or written for a funder or philanthropy.

The individual submitting the nomination must provide one electronic version and one hard copy to the Awards Committee along with the nomination form. For further information contact David Gamson (information below). In 2010, we will present an award for an outstanding research publication (article, book, or book chapter) published between July 2007 and August 2009.

FOR NOMINATION FORMS OR MORE INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT:

David Gamson
Department of Education Policy Studies
310D Rackley Building
Penn State University
University Park, PA 16802-3201
(814) 865-2583 phone
(814) 865-1480 fax
gamson@psu.edu

District SIG Research Update

2008-11-17T14:05:00.008-05:00

Dear Districts in Research and Reform SIG members,

I am pleased to present the second District SIG Research Update. Thank you to all SIG members who wrote in with their latest articles, chapters, grants, and ongoing work focusing on districts. The next Research Update will be tied to the 2009 AERA Annual Meeting, and I will send out a reminder to send in SIG- and district-related sessions after notices go out to presenters. I would also like to remind SIG members to please nominate outstanding dissertations and research reports for the 2009 District SIG Awards – if you have questions, please contact David Gamson at gamson@psu.edu.

-- Jacob Mishook

Articles, Books, and Book Chapters

Matthew Militello, Scott Alan Metzger, & Alex J. Bowers (2008). The High School "Space Race": Implications of a School-Choice Market Environment for a Michigan Metropolitan Region. Education and Urban Society, Vol. 41, No. 1, 26-54.

ABSTRACT: This article examines the implications of competition between school districts in a mid-Michigan metropolitan area. Over the 10-year period after Michigan's major school-funding reform in 1994, many urban and suburban districts found themselves competing for per-pupil state funding. Suburban districts need extra students to make up budgetary shortfalls and protect instructional programs that are essential in today's political climate of school accountability. Several districts in this study built new or substantially renovated state-of-the-art high schools, possibly illustrating a space race between the districts to build bigger, better, newer capital assets that attract pupils and residential development. The central city district, surrounded by growing suburbs with higher-value taxable property, is at a disadvantage in this competition.

URL: http://eus.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/41/1/26

Alex J. Bowers (2008). Promoting Excellence: Good to Great, NYC's District 2, and the Case of a High-Performing School District. Leadership and Policy in Schools, Vol 7, Issue 2, 154-177.

ABSTRACT: This paper compares two celebrated studies-New York City Community School District 2 (Elmore & Burney, 1999), and Good to Great (Collins, 2001), which examined sustained success in American corporations-to the case of a single high-performing school district. The question of interest concerns how school districts achieve and maintain high performance. The study focuses on five central issues from a combined theory from District 2 and Good to Great: 1) An organizationwide disciplined system that provides boundaries for participants but allows for creativity and innovation within those boundaries; 2) a central defined organizational focus that drives day-to-day decisions and is separate from an organization's vision and mission; 3) getting the right people into the organization through innovative hiring and training practices; 4) funneling budgetary resources to district priorities through multipocket budgeting; and 5) a long-term commitment to success through continuous improvement while maintaining a focus on the current challenges facing the organization.

URL: http://www.informaworld.com/openurl?genre=issue&issn=1570-0763&volume=7&issue=2

Meredith I. Honig. (In Press). No small thing: School district central office bureaucracies and the implementation of New Small Autonomous Schools Initiatives. American Educational Research Journal.

ABSTRACT: New small autonomous schools initiatives are relatively recent educational change strategies that in some urban districts aim to remake how district central offices function as institutions. This article draws on theories of organizational innovation and learning to reveal how central office administrators participate in these change processes, what outcomes are associated with their efforts, and the conditions that help or hinder their work. Data come from a three-year qualitative investigation of these dynamics in two districts. Results show that particular bridging and buffering activities by certain central office administrators were consistent with policy goals and linked to increasing district supports for implementation. Particular dimensions of the institutional environments of central offices shaped central office administrators’ choices and actions.

Meredith I. Honig (2008). District Central Offices as Learning Organizations: How Sociocultural and Organizational Learning Theories Elaborate District Central Office Administrators’ Participation in Teaching and Learning Improvement Efforts. American Journal of Education, No. 114.

ABSTRACT: School district central office administrators face unprecedented demands to become key supporters of efforts to improve teaching and learning districtwide. Some suggest that these demands mean that central offices, especially in midsized and large districts, should become learning organizations but provide few guides for how central offices might operate as learning organizations. This article

presents a conceptual framework that draws on organizational and sociocultural learning theories to elaborate what might be involved if central offices operated as learning organizations. Specific work practices that this conceptual framework highlights include central office administrators’ participation in new school assistance relationships and their ongoing use of evidence from assistance relationships

and other sources to inform central office policies and practices. Sense making and managing paradoxes are fundamental to these processes. I highlight these activities with empirical illustrations from research and experience, discuss conditions that help/hinder these activities, and suggest directions for district research and practice.

Meredith I. Honig & Cynthia Coburn (2008). Evidence-Based Decision Making in School District Central Offices: Toward a Policy and Research Agenda. Educational Policy, Volume 22, No. 4, 578-608.

ABSTRACT: District central office administrators increasingly face policy demands to use “evidence” in their decision making. These demands up the ante on education policy researchers and policy makers to better understand what evidence use in district central offices entails and the conditions that may support it. To that end, the authors conducted a comprehensive review of research literature on evidence use in district central offices, finding that the process of evidence use is complex, spanning multiple subactivities and requiring administrators to make sense of evidence and its implications for central office operations. These activities have significant political dimensions and involve the use of “local knowledge” as a key evidence source. Evidence use is shaped by features of the evidence itself and various organizational and institutional factors. Policy shapes evidence use, but other factors mediate its impact. The authors conclude with implications for future policy and research on central office evidence-based decision making.

S. Stringfield, D. Reynolds, & G. Shaffer. (In Press). Improving Secondary Students' Academic Achievement Through a Focus on Reform Reliability: Four- and Nine-year Findings from the High Reliability Schools Project. School Effectiveness and School Improvement.

ABSTRACT: In an article to appear in the December 2008 issue of School Effectiveness and School Improvement, two colleagues and I describe a multi-year effort to substantially raise achievement for all students in an 11 secondary school Welsh Local Authority. We also provide data from a 5-year follow up. Results were dramatically positive. Among other things, the district has been declared by their national government to be the most "value added" district in the country. A second district-wide effort with the same intervention was found to be one of the 10 most improving in England. Of particular interest to a SIG focused on the district is the fact that a third district attempted the same secondary school reforms, but in some--not all--of its schools, and got essentially no positive effect at all. A clear implication is that the district matters as a unit of intervention/improvement.

Reports and Grants

Evaluation of the Texas High School Project

Chris Padilla of SRI International is leading a substudy under the larger evaluation project that is looking at district leadership support being provided through the initiative to 3 large urban districts in Texas, described below.

(Texas Education Agency, 2007-2011)

Reforming today's high schools to achieve better educational outcomes is at the top of most national, state, and local education agendas. With funding from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), the Community Foundation of Texas, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael and Susan Dell Foundation, the Texas High School Project (THSP) constitutes one of the country's most ambitious statewide efforts to transform high schools. THSP is made up of several high school reform initiatives, including High Schools That Work, Early College High Schools, charters, T-STEM, and High School Redesign.

THSP's success will be crucial to the future of the state's secondary and postsecondary education. To provide policy makers and educators with objective, timely, and targeted information that will help ensure the progress and success of the high school reform initiatives, TEA, with support from THSP funders, has commissioned SRI International and its subcontractors to conduct a longitudinal evaluation of THSP. The evaluation team seeks to:

Provide annual formative and summative evaluations of THSP initiatives to TEA and THSP funders.
Design systems to compile and analyze assessment data.
Document the process and outcomes of educational change.
Identify factors that lead to success or pose challenges.
Analyze policy factors affecting success.
Synthesize lessons learned into best practices.

The primary audiences for the evaluation are the THSP program staff and the THSP-funded schools; however, the evaluation also has an external audience of policymakers, funders and practitioners in the field of educational reform.

The research team's approach to the THSP evaluation is grounded in the simple proposition that what matters most in comprehensive reform is what happens in the schools—where teachers teach and students learn. The evaluation design also reflects THSP’s complexity and multiple initiatives. The evaluation is designed to identify and understand the role of state and district policy, school reform networks and support providers, school conditions, and teacher and student activities in the implementation of THSP reforms. These factors will be studied through qualitative interviews and case studies, as well as quantitative surveys and analyses. We will also track student outcomes such as: attitudes towards academics, attendance, course-taking patterns, and achievement.

Data collection and analysis activities will concentrate on understanding the implementation and outcomes of various initiatives at individual high schools. The evaluation team will closely examine change at the school level and then trace the contributions of the different support efforts to that change.

Evaluation Study of California’s District Intervention and Regional Capacity Building Project

Principal Investigator: Chris Padilla

Project Director: Juliet Tiffany-Morales

SRI International

Project Description

The Evaluation Study of California’s District Intervention and Regional Capacity Building Project is a two-year evaluation (October 2007 through December 2009) of the state’s efforts to support Program Improvement districts as identified under NCLB or districts at risk of being identified as Program Improvement in the future. The District Intervention and Assistance Teams (DAIT) is currently a pilot project in 15 districts across the state where districts and their DAIT providers (generally County Offices of Education) complete a comprehensive needs assessment to identify, prioritize, and implement actions that have the potential to bring about improvements in district and school operations across seven key DAIT areas including governance and leadership; alignment of curriculum, instruction, and assessment; data systems; achievement monitoring; alignment of human and fiscal resources with district goals; meaningful parent and community involvement; and targeted professional development for teachers and administrators.

The Regional Capacity Building (RCB) component of this project brings together the leadership of the 11 county superintendent regions identified by the California County Superintendents Educational Services Association (CCSESA) in an effort to build the capacity of all county offices to support districts in the development of the seven key DAIT areas.

This evaluation is using a mix of telephone and on-line surveys of multiple sources, case studies of a subset of pilot DAIT districts and their DAIT provider, and an analysis of publicly available student achievement data to determine the extent to which the DAIT/RCB initiative is a viable district intervention and support model worthy of statewide replication. The first year of data collection and analysis was completed in October 2008.