Evaluating the Performance of Philadelphia's Charter Schools Mar 2008 Ron Zimmer, Suzanne Blanc, Brian P Gill, Jolley Bruce Christman

Charter schools, publicly funded schools that operate autonomously outside the direct control of local school districts and generally enroll students through the choices of their parents rather tha...

Studying Micro-Processes of School-Based Educators' Use of Data in Cross-School Qualitative Research Apr 2007 Suzanne Blanc, Katrina E. Bulkley, Jolley Bruce Christman, Ruth Curran Neild, Eva Travers

This paper was presented at the American Education Research Association's 2007 annual conference. While there is a great deal of enthusiasm for collection and use of student data by educators, litt...

Public Education in Philadelphia: The Crucial Need for Civic Capacity in a Privatized Environment Mar 2007 Suzanne Blanc, Elaine Simon

This article explores the role of public engagement in Philadelphia public schools, answering the question of whether the form of private sector involvement now being pursued by the School District...

Student Achievement in Privately Managed and District-Managed Schools in Philadelphia Since the State Takeover Jan 2007 Brian P Gill, Ron Zimmer, Jolley Bruce Christman, Suzanne Blanc

Following a state takeover of the Philadelphia public schools in 2002, 45 schools were turned over to private managers, making Philadelphia the site of the nation's largest experiment in the privat...

State Takeover, School Restructuring, Private Management, and Student Achievement in Philadelphia Jan 2007 Brian P Gill, Ron Zimmer, Jolley Bruce Christman, Suzanne Blanc

Following a state takeover of the Philadelphia public schools in 2002, 45 schools were turned over to private managers, making Philadelphia the site of the nation's largest experiment in the privat...

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...

Supports and Challenges in the Multiple Provider Model: Principals Offer Mixed Perspectives on First Year of Takeover Jun 2003 Suzanne Blanc

This article, based on interviews with principals from schools undergoing reform interventions under state takeover, offers these principals' perspectives on the first school year under the new 'mu...

Emerging Themes from the Perspective of Principals Mar 2003 Suzanne Blanc

This is an analytic paper based on interviews with a sample of 20 principals from Philadelphia's 85 lowest performing schools and interviews with private managers and representatives from the Schoo...

From the Ground Up: The Logan Square Neighborhood Association's Approach to Building Community Capacity Feb 2003 Suzanne Blanc, Matthew Goldwasser, Joanna Brown

This report presents a study of the evolution, implementation, and results of the Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA). LSNA has a 40 year history of mobilixing residents to maintain and im...

Teacher Beliefs about Equity in a Mathematics and Science Reform Program 2003 Suzanne Blanc, Marcine Pickron-Davis, Rhonda Mordecai-Phillips

This paper is drawn from Research for Action's evaluation of the Urban Systemic Program in Philadelphia. The Urban Systemic Program is designed to enhance achievement in mathematics and science for...

Strong Neighborhoods, Strong Schools: Case Study: Logan Square Neighborhood Association Mar 2002 Suzanne Blanc, Chris Brown, Aida Nevarez-La Torre

Logan Square Neighborhood Association (LSNA), started in the early 1960s, is a multi-issue organization with a diverse constituency reflecting the make-up of this racially and economically varied n...

Preview of Findings from RFA's Fall 1999 Data Collection and Analysis: Creating an Infrastructure for Sustaining Math and Science Reform in Philadelphia 2000 Suzanne Blanc

This report is an analysis of the PHUSI and large-scale sustainable changes in math and science curricula in Philadelphia schools. The analysis is based primarily on key informant interviews conduc...

'Up-close and personal': An Evaluation of the American Red Cross Partners for Youth Program Mar 1999 Suzanne Blanc, Diane C. Brown, Hitomi Yoshida

This report is an evaluation of the American Red Cross' Partners for Youth program as implemented in twelve Philadelphia middle schools. This program is based on the principle that service learning...

The Science Learning Network: An Experiment in Technology, Museum-School Partnerships and Educational Reform Mar 1998 Suzanne Blanc, Jolley Bruce Christman, Thea Renda Abu El-Haj, Tabatha Abu El-Haj

This report is an evaluation of the performance of the Science Learning Network (SLN) during the first three years of its existence, from 1995 to 1997. SLN was a collaboration of six science museum...

Girls in the Middle: Working to Succeed in School Sep 1996 Jody Cohen, Suzanne Blanc, Jolley Bruce Christman, Diane C. Brown, Michelle Sims

Middle schools are in a position to empower girls through educational reforms that directly address issues of gender equity. This study, commissioned by the American Association of University Women...

'I'm No Longer Afraid to Say I Don't Know:' Becoming Scientists/Becoming Leaders Sep 1994 Suzanne Blanc, Jolley Bruce Christman

An evaluation of the Teachers Leadership Collaborative, a project of the Franklin Institute. Describes how urban teachers undertake an inquiry, hands-on to science instruction and position themsel...