Beyond Islands of Excellence: What Districts can do to Improve Instruction and Achievement in All Schools
The Learning First Alliance
March 2003
In this report, the Learning First Alliance (LFA) seeks to explain how high-poverty, low-performing districts have been able to turn things around and climb onto the path to increased achievement. LFA was particularly interested in district-level improvements, with an eye to gaining insight about effective system-wide reforms. Based on its analysis of five high-poverty districts that have made strides in student achievement, LFA finds support for what many have long thought: that school improvement requires faculty and community buy-in, data-driven decision-making, high standards, accountability for results, and a steadfast focus on raising achievement. Though the authors downplay the transformative role that charter schools and competition can play in system-wide change, the lessons here are valuable if increasingly commonplace. To order or download the report, go to http://www.learningfirst.org/bie/bie.html.
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