Cosmic Chemistry is a two-week summer science program being designed and studied by McREL. The curriculum will be based on new scientific findings from the NASA Genesis Mission, the fifth in a series of un-manned space missions focused on the solar system.
McREL Principal Consultants Anne Lundquist and Jane Hill discuss the implications the increasing linguistic diversity of student populations. Educators are increasingly challenged to provide ELLs with academically rigorous instructions. This article explores how incorporating higher-order thinking into the stages of language acquisition can improve the rigor of instruction.
Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Kentucky, has released a new report that describes the outcomes of a series of reviews it commissioned to guide its future reform efforts. One of those reviews is the Greater Louisville Education Project, which McREL completed in 2009. McREL's review focused on five areas: preparing students for college/careers/civic engagement, curricular reform, the district/community safety net for children, the district’s competitiveness among comparable cities, and funding adequacy.
A new study suggests that the achievement gap between Native American students and non-native students is closing in several states. McREL Senior Researcher Dawn Mackety points out that the gap still exists and there is no indication that Native American students in general are catching up with or surpassing other groups.
Students and teachers in the Boaz City School System are preparing for "NASA Week"—a week-long series of classroom visits and hands-on demonstrations led by a team of NASA scientists, educators, and specialists. McREL Principal Consultant John Ristvey and the other NASA affiliates will spend the week working with both students and teachers, discussing current missions and career opportunities at NASA.
McREL has begun work on a three-year project to design and study the effects of “Cosmic Chemistry”—a two-week summer science program designed to encourage high school students to enroll in chemistry. Cosmic Chemistry will use the real-world context of space science to set high expectations, build background knowledge, and motivate students, with the ultimate goal of increasing their science achievement.
Modern college classrooms are rapidly becoming high-tech wonderlands. New technology offers ways for schools to reach students who live in a connected world. "For kids, the technology is just the environment that they know," says McREL Senior Director Howard Pitler.
Experts in Indian Education held a summit in Rapid City, S.D., to discuss concerns about the graduation rate of Native Americans. McREL Senior Researcher Dawn Mackety, who studies Native American education, emphasized the importance of ensuring all students are given the best chance possible.
Executive function might not be the first word you think of when you picture a kindergarten or preschool classroom. Unless, of course, your classroom uses the Tools of the Mind curriculum co-developed by McREL Principal Researcher Elena Bodrova. Based on the teachings of Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky, Tools of the Mind uses dramatic play to teach students the executive function skills (particularly self-regulation) needed to succeed in school and in life.
McREL consultants Howard Pitler and Elizabeth Hubbell will present at the upcoming 2009 T+L Conference October 28–30 in Denver, Colo. The annual T+L Conference is the premier technology and learning conference for district leadership teams.
In 2007, Northeast Guilford High School (NEHS) was identified as one of the state's "turnaround schools." The next year, the school initiated McREL’s Success in Sight approach to school improvement. After only one year of Success in Sight, NEHS has been named one of the most improved schools in the county.
Sen. Yvonne S. Wilson attributes the successes of high-performing Kansas City schools to their positive school culture. She cites research from McREL, summarized in McREL Insights—Schools that "Beat the Odds", that relates overall school performance with a "culture of high expectations."
PBS is adding "Angelina Ballerina: The Next Steps" to their children's programming lineup. The show's educational content is derived from McREL's standards for music and dance, published in the compendium of content standards and benchmarks.
Phyllis Chase, the new associate superintendent for North Kansas City Schools, is on a mission to improve the district's implementation of culturally responsive teaching and learning. She has reviewed the available research on culturally responsive teaching and learning, including a REL Central report by McREL Senior Researcher Dawn Mackety.
In his July 30 speech to the Nebraska Council of School Administrators, Governor Dave Heinman emphasized the need to hire the best teachers and administrators to improve student achievement. He cited research published in McREL's book, School District Leadership that Works®.
Today's children spend more time focusing on homework and extra-curricular activities than ever before. But according to McREL Principal Researcher Elena Bodrova, this might be hurting their development and preparation for life.
Both central Twin Cities school districts are looking for new superintendents. The old superintendents served for only 3—4 years. Nationwide, the average urban schools superintendent has a tenure of about 3.5 years. New research from McREL, published in School District Leadership that Works®, shows a definite link to the length of a superintendent's tenure and student achievement.
Tennessee schools have implemented new graduation requirements in an attempt to improve student achievement statewide. The state's science curriculum will be revised this year following guidelines from a McREL study the state commissioned in 2006.
David Karem argues that the low grades recently given to Louisville, Kentucky, schools fails to take into account several important findings from the Greater Louisville Education Project Report prepared by McREL Senior Researcher Carrie Harris.
Changing Schools, the magazine for educators published thrice yearly by McREL, has won a Distinguished Achievement Award from the Association of Educational Publishers (AEP).
At the annual dropout summit in North Dakota, McREL Senior Researcher Dawn Mackety explained that parent-engagement plays a crucial role in preventing dropouts. "If we can get parents more engaged, that helps kids make that connection between their home culture and schools," said Mackety.
McREL's magazine for educators, Changing Schools, has been named as a finalist for the 2009 Distinguished Achievement Awards, given by the Association of Education Publishers.
McREL, in conjunction with KnowledgeWorks Foundation, has published Transforming Urban Education: Implications for State Policymakers, a brief that employs scenario planning to envision a wide array of possible futures for education in urban centers. The authors recommend several steps urban educators can take today to prepare for these futures.
Johnson Junior High School in Cheyenne, Wyo., will be using McREL's Success in Sight approach to school improvement. Success in Sight is a customized approach to school improvement that builds on school strengths, uses research to identify and implement changes that generate "quick wins" in student achievement, and over time, lead to long-term, sustainable changes in school culture and performance.
The Georgia House passed a bill which could give schools the flexibility they need to switch to a four-day week. School officials want this to be an option available to them, though they don't have plans to move any schools to a four-day week immediately. There is more work to be done in weighing the benefits and drawbacks of the idea. McREL Principal Evaluator Andrea Beesley points out that the impacts on student achievement are unclear, "because so many things affect student achievement."
Olympus High School offers online high school courses to homeschooled children, allowing them to benefit from the structure and support of a traditional school. The accredited online high school uses content standards established by McREL.
McREL and the Stanford Nanofabrication Facility (SNF) have released the first of two instructional modules from the NanoLeap into New Science project funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF).
WFPL host Julie Kredens recently interviewed Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) Superintendent Sheldon Berman and McREL Researcher Carrie Harris about McREL's study, called the Greater Louisville Education Project. The study was commissioned by JCPS to analyze the district's performance and identify areas in need of improvement.
Jefferson County Public Schools in Kentucky recently hired McREL to evaluate their district in funding, safety, college and career readiness, instruction, and advancing competiveness. The district plans to use the report to benchmark their progress and identify areas in need of reform. So far, the district has found McREL's report to reaffirm their goals and strategies, and raise awareness of areas that need to be improved.
Park City Schools are contemplating moving to a four-day school week. Before they make a decision, however, they are trying to evaluate all sides of the issue and review the available research, which has been summarized by McREL.
A small classroom in Sioux Falls brings together students from diverse backgrounds and ages in a one-room classroom for grades 3–8. McREL Principal Evaluator Andrea Beesley notes that children in such classrooms are often shortchanged on activities and can have trouble switching to larger schools later, but that they do benefit from working with children in other grade levels.
