Promising InRoads: Year One of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative - Executive Summary Sep 2006 Diane C. Brown, Rebecca J. Reumann-Moore, Pierre L. du Plessis, Jolley Bruce Christman, Roseann Liu

Executive summary to the report that examines the implementation of the first year of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative. Funded by the Annenberg Foundation, it is an on-site profess...

The Role of District Leadership in Radical Reform: Philadelphia's Experience under the State Takeover, 2001-2006 Jul 2006 Elizabeth Useem, Jolley Bruce Christman, William L. Boyd

Clearly, leadership is key in the success of any reform, especially one as ambitious and complex as that in Philadelphia. 'The case of Philadelphia is noteworthy as an examplar of the implementatio...

Privatization 'Philly Style': What Can Be Learned from Philadelphia's Diverse Provider Model of School Management (Updated edition with important new information and findings) Jun 2006 Jolley Bruce Christman, Eva Gold, Benjamin B. Herold

This edition of Privatization 'Philly Style' updates the 2005 publication of the same name, providing important new information and findings. Philadelphia's diverse provider model is an interventio...

Art Lessons from NYC: Use City's Rich Resources to Restore Arts Education Jun 2006 Jolley Bruce Christman

This article discusses the revitalization of arts education in New York City's public schools after budget cuts decimated arts programs years ago. Strong intermediary organizations advocating for ...

Crafting a Civic Stage for Public Education Reform: Understanding the Work and Accomplishments of Local Education Funds Jun 2005 Elaine Simon, Jolley Bruce Christman, Tracey A. Hartmann, Diane C. Brown

This report is based on research focusing on understanding and assessing how Local Education Funds (LEFs)carryout their mission and demonstrate success. It offers a conceptual model for understand...

Crafting a Civic Stage for Public Education Reform: Executive Summary Jun 2005 Elaine Simon, Jolley Bruce Christman, Tracey A. Hartmann, Diane C. Brown

Executive summary to the report offering a conceptual model for understanding the decisions that LEFs make as they go about shaping both organizational identity and an approach to their work.

Small Learning Communities that Actually Learn: Lessons for School Leaders May 2005 Jonathan A. Supovitz, Jolley Bruce Christman

Collaborative communities of teachers have great potential for bringing about improvements in teaching and learning. However, the authors found in their studies in Cincinnati and Philadelphia that...

Blurring the Boundaries: Private Sector Involvement in Philadelphia Public Schools Apr 2005 Eva Gold, Jolley Bruce Christman, Katrina E. Bulkley, Elizabeth Useem

This paper focuses on the school district of Philadelphia following the state takeover. It explores the tensions between state pressures to shift power away from the district central office and tow...

Getting Real About What it Takes to Conduct Evaluation Research: What Do You Need to Know? 2005 Elaine Simon, Jolley Bruce Christman

Anthropology prepares researchers for many aspects of evaluation work, but academic training provides insufficient preparation for four roles expected in evaluation research: organizational consult...

Schools Examine Test Data to Guide Plans for What to Teach Sep 2004 Suzanne Blanc, Jolley Bruce Christman

There is great enthusiasm in Philadelphia and in districts across the country now for 'data driven decision-making' - using the information from assessments of student learning to guide plans for w...

Capitalizing on Microsociety: How Students Profit from Real World Learning - Executive Summary Apr 2004 Jolley Bruce Christman, Matthew Goldwasser, David Kutzik

The executive summary to the report which evaluated MicroSociety programs in 14 schools around the country. Using both qualitative and quantitative measures, the authors present findings primarily ...

Locating Local Education Funds: A Conceptual Framework for Describing LEF's Contribution to Public Education Jan 2004 Diane C. Brown, Jolley Bruce Christman, Tracey A. Hartmann, Elaine Simon

This report presents the findings of RFA's intitial literature review of research and other writings and documentation on local education funds as well as other education reform nonprofits working ...

Capitalizing on MicroSociety: How Students Profit from Real-World Learning Dec 2003 Jolley Bruce Christman, Matthew Goldwasser, David Kutzik

MicroSociety, Inc. (MSI), founded in 1991, has developed a unique and ambitious approach to the learning and development of elementary and middle grades students. It aims to nurture higher order th...

Developing Communities of Instructional Practice: Lessons from Cincinnati and Philadelphia Nov 2003 Jonathan A. Supovitz, Jolley Bruce Christman

Education reformers have increasingly invested in the development of communities wihtin schools as a central strategy to improve teaching and student learning. Two assumptions underlie the push fo...

Preparing our Students for the Big Test: Sustaining Test Score Gains Requires Good Teaching, Not Skill and Drill Mar 2003 Jolley Bruce Christman

In this Guest Opinion piece the author addresses a nationwide concern that increased emphasis on high-stakes testing often leads to 'an impoverished educational program...of skill and drill.' She p...

Lessons from the Keystone Science Network: The Role of Networked Technology in Improving K-8 Science Education Dec 2002 Jolley Bruce Christman, Matthew Pearson, Hitomi Yoshida

In this report we present findings from three years of evaluation research conducted by Research for Action staff that accompanied implementation of the Keystone Science Network (KSN). During that ...

The Limits and Contradictions of Systemic Reform: The Philadelphia Story Nov 2002 Jolley Bruce Christman, Tom Corcoran, Thomas B. Corcoran

Evaluation directors Christman and Corcoran summarize the findings and lessons learned from the five-year evaluation of the Children Achieving Challenge reform in Philadelphia under the leadership ...

Civic Engagement and Urban School Improvement: Hard-to-Learn Lessons from Philadelphia Jun 2002 Jolley Bruce Christman, Amy Rhodes

This report examines the attempts of the Children Achieving Challenge leaders to build public engagement through the perspectives of more than forty Philadelphia civic leaders from government, busi...

Powerful Ideas, Modest Gains: Five years of Systematic Reform in Philadelphia Middle Schools Dec 2001 Jolley Bruce Christman

Author Christman details the experiences and outcomes of middle schools during the Children Achieving Challenge reform, and examines how the reform design worked in a middle school context. She al...