School Improvement

NNSSIL Webinar Presents Arizona’s Early Lessons Learned from SIG

Last Thursday, October 28th, the National Network of State School Improvement Leaders (NNSSIL) held a webinar, “Supporting Systemic Change in High Schools,” that focused on School Improvement Grants (SIG).  Participants included Angela Denning from the Arizona State Department of Education, Lisa Long and Michael Dunbar from Pima Partnership High School in

Slow and Steady in the Race to Reform

As we’ve posted recently, much of the RTTT, as well as School Improvement Grant, reforms will focus on high schools. A recent report from the Achievement Gap Initiative (AGI) at Harvard University provides some timely lessons about how high schools improve and become exemplary[1].  

The AGI report details the stories of 15 high schools in six states and highlights five steps that these high schools took to become exemplary:

Race to the Top Winners Promise High School Innovations

Race to the Top (RTTT) round two award winners were released yesterday, and the news is good for the nine state winners and the District of Columbia.  Though we’ve devoted previous blogs to round two finalists’ applications, we’re now taking a closer look at high school-specific proposals in the winning states.  Though many states have exciting and successful high school initiatives already up and run

Keeping an Eye Out for the System in Systemic Reform

The U.S. Department of Education has encouraged alignment across different grant programs, including Race to the Top and School Improvement Grants. The challenge for states will be to move very quickly to refine, or in some cases create, a coherent, aligned, and systemic theory of improvement that puts teaching and learning in the center and aligns with federal, district, and local stakeholder priorities.

Highest-Rated Investing in Innovation (i3) Applicants: High School Improvement, Personalization, and Curricula Focus

Though many of the i3 grants have important implications for high school, this week we are discussing those that are most specifically high school focused.[1] Today we discuss the remainder of high school grants which cover a diverse range of high school topics, including high school improvement, personalization, and curricula. More details about the applications are available in the abstracts linked below.

Highest-Rated Investing in Innovation (i3) Applicants: Graduation and College Readiness Focus

Though many of the i3 grants have important implications for high school, this week we are discussing those that are most specifically high school focused.[1] Today we summarize the winning projects designed to increase high school graduation and improve college readiness. More details about the applications are available in the abstracts linked below.

Highest-Rated Investing in Innovation (i3) Applicants: High School STEM Focus

Though many of the i3 grants have important implications for high school, this week we are discussing those that are most specifically high school focused.[1] Today we summarize the winning projects designed to increase skills, achievement rates, and participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. More details about the applications are available in the abstracts linked below.

Highest-Rated Investing in Innovation (i3) Applicants Announced

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) recently selected the highest-rated Investing in Innovation (i3) applicants. These 49 school districts, nonprofit education organizations and institutions of higher education were chosen from among nearly 1,700 applicants. To officially become an i3 grantee, the winning applicants have until September 8th to secure commitment for a 20% private sector match.

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