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 » McREL: Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning, delivering research and practical guidance to educators

         Looking to make the most of your School Improvement Fund dollars?
McREL offers a variety of customized, research-based technical assistance and professional development programs designed to build the capacity of district and school staff to improve student achievement. Click on the link above to learn more.
         Success in Sight Web site
Visit McREL's new Web site to learn more about Success in Sight, McREL's unique approach to school improvement.
         McREL Online Learning Communities
         McREL services for use with School Improvement Funds
         Success in Sight: A Comprehensive Approach to School Improvement (service description)
         McREL Technology Solutions Site Coordinator's Training
         The Power of Data
         An Education Research Primer: How to Understand, Evaluate, and Use It

         A Policymaker’s Primer on Education Research: How To Understand, Evaluate & Use It [Online tool]
         Asking the Right Questions: A School Change Toolkit
         Balanced Leadership Profile®
         Dynamics of Alliances
         Examining Comprehensive School Reform in Schools Serving Native American Communities: Case Study Report (updated version)
         Examining the meaning of accountability: Reframing the construct
         Implementing Education Reform: Strategies Used by States, Districts, and Schools
         Leading Schools: Distinguishing the Essential from the Important
         McREL Insights - Schools that "Beat the Odds"
         Noteworthy Perspectives on Comprehensive School Reform
         Noteworthy Perspectives: Exploring Beliefs and Research to Promote Thoughtful Practice
         Noteworthy Perspectives: Success in Sight
         Noteworthy Perspectives: What's Noteworthy on Learners, Learning, and Schooling
         Noteworthy Perspectives: What's Noteworthy on...Education Issues in the Heartland
         Success in Sight: A Comprehensive Approach to School Improvement (report)
         Changing Schools, Fall 2005
         Changing Schools, Fall 2006—Time: Making the most of a precious resource
         Changing Schools, Fall 2007—The Importance of Asking Why
         Changing Schools, Spring 2002
         Changing Schools, Spring 2003
         Changing Schools, Spring 2005
         Changing Schools, Spring 2007—Getting a new perspective on school improvement
         Changing Schools, Summer 2005
         Changing Schools, Winter 2003
         Changing Schools, Winter 2004
         Changing Schools, Winter 2005
         Changing Schools, Winter 2006—Stopping the pendulum: How to turn change into progress
         Changing Schools, Winter 2008—Creating Purposeful Communities
         Understanding resistance: Lessons from a river [Fall 2007 Changing Schools article]
         Policy Brief - Ensuring Quality Teachers Through Alternative Certification Programs
         Policy Brief - No Child Left Behind: Realizing the Vision
         Policy Brief - Reducing Class Size: Choices and Consequences
         Policy Brief - Resource Allocation: Targeting Funding for Maximum Impact
         Policy Brief - School Finance: From Equity to Adequacy
         Policy Brief - School, Teacher, and Leadership Impacts on Student Achievement
         Policy Brief: Focusing on the Basics in Beat-the-Odds Schools
         Policy Brief: Preparing for an Uncertain Future
         A Monograph on Creating Organizational Change Using a Living-Systems Approach
         A New Era of School Reform: Going Where the Research Takes Us
         Final Report: High-Needs Schools - What Does it take to beat the odds?
         Guiding Rural Schools and Districts: A Research Agenda
         Missed Opportunities: Supplemental Services in the Central Region States [Research in Brief]
         The Effectiveness of Out-Of-School-Time Strategies in Assisting Low-Achieving Students in Reading and Mathematics: A Research Synthesis
         Understanding No Child Left Behind
         Asking the Right Questions: A Leader's Guide to Systems Thinking About School Improvement
         Evaluating for Success: An Evaluation Guide for Schools and Districts
         Leadership Folio Series: Guiding Comprehensive School Reform
         Leadership Folio Series: Sustaining School Improvement
         Noteworthy Perspectives: Classroom Strategies for Helping At-Risk Students
         Noteworthy Perspectives: School Improvement
         What's the difference between purposeful learning communities and professional learning communities?

         Annenburg Institute for School Reform
Develops, shares and acts on knowledge that improves the conditions and outcomes of schooling in America
         Education Commission of the States
Disseminates information about current and emerging issues, trends and innovations in state education policy
         Education Policy Studies Laboratory
Conducts original research in areas such as student performance standards, assessment, commercialism in schools, curriculum, and language policy issues
         National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform
Collects and disseminates information that builds the capacity of schools to raise the academic achievement of all students
         Think Systemically, Act Systematically
This article, co-authored by McREL Senior Director Danette Parsley, appeared in the Winter 2008 edition of the Journal of Scholarship & Practice.