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Educational Improvement and Reform
The AED Center for School and Community Services supports educational reform in a variety of programs and initiatives. Some of these address improving specific programs, while others focus on whole-school change and building reflective school communities to foster the healthy development and high achievement of all students. The Center has worked at all levels of schooling. Current and recent educational reform projects are described below.
Addressing the Growing Crisis in Boys' Education through Early Childhood Pre-Service Teacher Education (2005-07)
This project, developed by the Educational Equity Center at AED, is bringing together a working group of highly experienced early childhood teacher educators to develop materials to help teachers and teacher education programs more effectively address the needs of boys, with a special focus on the needs of African American and Latino boys. The working group includes representatives from several types of teacher education institutions, including the College of New Jersey, the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Medgar Evers College and the Bank Street College of Education. Project activities will include the design, development, pilot-testing, and revision of materials by the working group in consultation with an advisory group of nationally known researchers and educators. Materials developed will be disseminated widely through teacher education professional development networks, such as National Association for the Education of Young Children, conference presentations, and articles in relevant journals such as Young Children and Educational Leadership.
Afterschool Math Plus Implementation and Replication (2004-07)
The project entails the development, implementation, and dissemination of After-School Math PLUS (ASM+), the overall goal of which is to increase the number of low-income, underserved students who pursue mathematics education. Using the rapidly growing field of informal education, ASM+ incorporates the best practices of informal math programs while adding the following unique elements: collaborations between science museums and local afterschool centers; use of teenage museum docents (known as "explainers") from diverse cultural backgrounds as mentors and role models; student-created math exhibits displayed in community-based public spaces; and the application of practical strategies for family involvement. ASM+ is being developed and implemented in collaboration with the New York Hall of Science and the St. Louis Science Center, with participation and support from after-school centers in their communities. In the final year, EEC In this replication phase, EEC will replicate ASM+ in four sites where Toyota has facilities.
Alabama Mathematics, Science and Technology Initiative: A Project of the Southeastern Regional Laboratory (2006-09)
As part of the consortium of organizations awarded the contract to constitute the Southeastern Regional Laboratory (SE-REL), AED is collaborating on an evaluation of the Alabama Mathematics, Science and Technology Initiative (AMSTI), a series of professional development modules and resource kits for grades K-12 employing a hands-on and technology-based framework to the teaching of mathematics and science. In January 2006, 20 schools were randomly assigned to a control group and paired with an experimental group of 20 randomly selected schools. In total, 300 teachers are participating in the intervention, along with their math and science students; in year two, 36 randomly selected schools will join the study. The first cohort of schools will be followed for three years, and the second cohort for two years. AED is taking primary responsibility for tracking teacher instructional practices using teacher logs (both quantitative and qualitative), conducting interviews with principals and regional AMSTI leaders, conducting classroom observations with follow-up teacher interviews, and observing AMSTI professional development.
Appalachian Regional Commission, Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ARC-ORNL) Summer Institutes (ARC, 2005-06)
AED is evaluating the effectiveness of the ARC-ORNL summer institutes, which seek to increase the pool of qualified students pursuing careers requiring proficiency in science, math, and technology (SMT). AED's evaluation is studying how the institutes have influenced student participants, what school characteristics have enhanced success, and whether some groups (e.g., gender, ethnicity, or professional status) have benefited more than others, as well as the institutes impact on teacher practice.
BEE 21 and Inventing the Future Evaluation (2006-07)
AED is conducting a mixed-method evaluation of two Cloud Institute programs that seek to inspire young people and their teachers to think about the present and the future world in sustainable terms. The "Inventing the Future" curriculum seeks to inspire hope in children by improving students' critical thinking skills, including their ability to read and write critically with an awareness of multiple perspectives, and changing their relationship to their community and their sense of efficacy in bringing about change. The BEE 21 program, as it becomes integrated into business education courses, offers students a way to understand the concept of sustainability and its application in business practices. Presently, these two programs are implemented in 100 public high schools in New York City. The AED evaluation will address issues such as the school and individual factors that are effective in implementing the curriculum; which skills teachers acquire through professional development; whether additional supports are necessary to improve delivery of the curriculum; how barriers might be overcome; the ways in which teachers use the programs; the outcomes of the programs; and the strategies needed to expand the use of these programs within New York and elsewhere.
Community Collaborative to Improve Bronx Schools
(2004-09)
AED evaluated the Lead Teacher Project (LTP), which seeks to improve instruction, student achievement, and teacher retention in 10 schools—seven elementary schools, two middle schools and one K-8 school—in New York City using a teacher leader approach to teacher professional development. LTP was developed by a coalition of community-based organizations in the Bronx and a university partner (the Community Involvement Program at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform), which has been working for a number of years with parents and community members to improve schools in the area. Through LTP, exemplary teachers are recruited and placed in the 10 schools. These lead teachers teach in their own classrooms for half of the week and spend the other half assisting other teachers to improve instruction through demonstrations, coaching, sharing of resources, etc. AED's evaluation entailed a five-year study of the 10 schools, including an intensive study of five schools, using surveys, observations, interviews and comparison of the five schools with matched schools.
Creating a Community of Practice on Science, Gender and Afterschool (2004-06)
The SGA Community of Practice is a national, web-based dissemination project to provide an innovative way to actively reach a broad audience of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers about the important role of afterschool in engaging and sustaining girls* interest in pursuing education and careers in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM). It will serve as an ongoing, online learning exchange to disseminate the results of new and continuing research, program evaluations, afterschool science curricula, best practices, and relevant STEM and SGA publications. The overall goal of the SGA Community of Practice is to broaden the participation of underserved girls in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Objectives are to: (1) further research in the STEM, gender, and afterschool fields; (2) aid afterschool program practitioners in accessing high quality STEM content that they can incorporate into their existing programs; and (3) foster connections between researchers, policymakers and practitioners. This project is funded by the National Science Foundation and being conducted in collaboration with the AED Center for Youth Development and Policy Research and in partnership with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS).
CUNY ENLACE Evaluation (2002-04)
An evaluation of the five sites of the City University of New York ENLACE (Engaging Latino Students for Education) Program, a collaboration among five colleges to positively impact the educational needs of New York's Latino youth and families. ENLACE seeks to foster greater involvement by Latino parents in the lives of their children and greater awareness of Latino culture among educators. The main purpose of AED's evaluation was formative--to provide ongoing feedback and assistance with shaping program procedures, activities, and services.
Great Science for Girls: Extension Services for Gender Equity in Science through After-School Programs (2006-11)
To broaden and sustain girls' interest and persistence in science education, GSG Extension Services will use 21st Century on-line technologies in combination with professional development and customized consulting services to create a unified program of change around girls, science and math, STEM and afterschool. Specifically, GSG Extension Services will offer consist of 1) four-day regional professional development institutes, 2) on-site consulting services, 3) a virtual support system of technical assistance, training, resources, and research, and 4) a handbook of best practices. Partners for this project are two AED Centers that have worked extensively in the afterschool field: the Center for Youth Development and Policy Research and the National Training Institute for Community Youth Work. To deliver GSG Extension Services efficiently across three large sections of the country, the project will affiliate with 12 regional intermediary organizations—four in the North East, four in the Midwest, and four in the Far West. Integral to this project will be EEC-AED's Science, Gender and Afterschool On-Line Community of Practice, funded by NSF.
Institute for Student Achievement Evaluation (2003-08)
AED is conducting a five-year outcomes study of the Institute for Student Achievement's (ISA) high school reform initiative. The initiative supports small learning communities comprising a cohort of students and teachers in grades 9 through 12 and includes intensive counseling, a rigorous college-prep instructional program, postsecondary planning, extended-day and -year programming, parent involvement, and on-site professional development. AED's longitudinal study will assess the initiative as two cohorts of students (in September 2003 and September 2004) proceed through the high school years and beyond. It will focus on the program in six schools—five in New York City and one in the New York City suburbs—that are using the six nonnegotiable ISA principles as a framework for changing school climate, culture and instruction.
Michigan Middle Start School Self-Assessment Project
(1997-03)
Entailed a process adapted by AED from the British school review to help middle-grades schools in Michigan build a reflective culture focused on the improvement of teaching and learning, as well as to increase the capacity of school staff, parents, and community members to assess how well schools are addressing the learning needs of all students. AED worked with Central Michigan University/Michigan Schools in the Middle, Detroit Public Schools Office of School Transformation, the Michigan Coalition of Essential Schools, Northern Michigan University/U. P. Center for Educational Development, and 15 schools in this project.
Middle Start (1994-06)
An educational reform program for schools with middle grades, Middle Start combines on-site support to schools with the development of regional partnerships of schools and local organizations. AED directs the National Middle Start Center and provides leadership for the development and management of the Middle Start comprehensive school reform model, regional partnerships and school networks, policy education and public engagement, and research and evaluation. Since 1998, Middle Start has become a state-approved model for comprehensive school reform in the middle-grades.
Mississippi Learning Institute Evaluation (2003-07)
A four-and-a-half-year study of a collaboration among Jackson State University, the Jackson Public Schools (JPS), and the Mississippi State Department of Education (MSDOE) to improve reading programs and outcomes in the city's public schools. AED is studying both the process through which the partnership achieves its goals and several outcomes, student teacher knowledge of reading theory and practice, the quality and impact of professional development developed by the university, JPS, and MSDOE, and changes in classroom practice related to the improvement of reading and changes in school outcomes.
National Service-Learning Partnership (2002-10)
AED sponsors the Partnership, a national membership organization bringing together practitioners, administrators, policymakers, researchers, community leaders, parents and young people to support K-12 service-learning. The Partnership is dedicated to advancing service-learning as a core element of the educational experience of every elementary, middle, and secondary school student in the United States. It offers a variety of information services and educational opportunities, including a monthly electronic newsletter and a website (www.service-learningpartnership.org), to keep its over 9,500 members connected to the latest ideas and developments in the field. The Partnership helps this diverse group acquire the skills and resources needed to become effective service-learning advocates. It also works with educators, youth development specialists, government officials and funders to help them understand the value of high-quality service-learning and how to foster its growth.
NSLP has recently expanded its work with two exciting initiatives—the Service-Learning Leaders Circle and the Emerging Leaders Initiative, both geared to leadership issues within the field. The Learning Circle seeks to support collaborative efforts between service-learning organizations that will expand and/or improve the communications and constituency-building efforts of the service-learning field within in the United States. The Emerging Leaders Initiative seeks to expand and diversify the current leadership of the service-learning field to include a new generation of young, more culturally diverse leaders and to ensure a stronger connection between service-learning and broader social change efforts.
National Writing Project Reading Initiative (2003-06)
AED is evaluating the NWP Reading Initiative, which designs and fosters professional development in reading comprehension strategies as a companion to its work in the teaching of writing, focusing on teachers who work with students in grades 4-12 across all subject areas. The NWP Reading Initiative seeks to build the same commitment to, enthusiasm for, and knowledge of reading comprehension strategies that writing project teachers currently demonstrate in the teaching of writing. AED's evaluation is studying the various approaches used by sites to implement its reading initiative and the local context and how it affects these approaches, as well as the impact of NRI in terms of building and expanding professional development resources and developing the capacity of the network to deliver high-quality professional development addressing reading. To carry out the evaluation, AED is conducting site visits, administering surveys, and documenting NRI professional development institutes.
Partnerships for College Access and Success (2003-07)
With support from The Lumina Foundation for Education, this project seeks to improve college access and degree attainment among underserved populations through a grant-making and technical assistance initiative. It targets students who are first-generation in college, low-income and adult students, and members of racial and ethnic minorities. AED is providing technical assistance to local partnerships, which will oversee the implementation of local projects, share lessons learned across grantee sites, and ensure the sustainability of the work beyond the period of the grants.
Playtime is Science for Students with Disabilities (2006-07)
Playtime is Science for Students with Disabilities will prepare classroom teachers from seven to eight sites in District 75 (a citywide special education district) in New York City to implement Playtime is Science for Students with Disabilities (PSSD), a hands-on, minds-on science program designed to help students to feel enthusiastic about science, learn content in the physical sciences, participate in fun literacy activities, think of themselves as scientists, and have a great time with content rich activities. Each of the 10 core activities contains modifications and strategies for working with students with a variety of disabilities and is appropriate with students in special education programs. The program will consist of three full days of professional development, ongoing and on-site technical assistance, and a half-day reunion.
Raising and Educating Healthy Boys (2005)
Research shows that boys, particularly African-American and Latino boys, are especially vulnerable during their first 10 years with respect to social/emotional development, referral to special education, and academic achievement, mainly in the area of literacy. This EEC project, which addressed the difficulty schools face in adequately supporting the developmental needs of many boys, conducted focus groups with parents and teachers; hosted a strategic planning meeting of researchers, practitioners, and policymakers; and issued a ground-breaking report--an urgent call to action to address the growing crisis in boys' education beginning in early childhood. The final report, Raising and Educating Healthy Boys: The Growing Crisis in Boys Education, 2005. (PDF) has been disseminated widely.
Reaching Science and Special Education Teachers: On-Line and In-Person (2004-06)
This project will provide vital information and teaching strategies around inquiry-based science for students with disabilities. The target audience is K-4 science and special education teachers. The overarching goal is to enable students with disabilities in grades K-4 to fully participate in science, learn skill-building activities, and gain positive attitudes about science that may influence later school and career choices. Core activities include professional development seminars offered on-line and at national conferences. The seminars build on Playtime is Science, an NSF-funded, standards-based science activity program that includes modifications for students with disabilities. Project partners are the Council for Exceptional Children and Science Education for Students with Disabilities, a National Science Teachers Association Associated Group.
Schools for a New Society Technical Support Team (2000-06)
Schools for a New Society (SNS), the Carnegie Corporation of New York's $60-million initiative designed to reinvent high school education in seven urban communities, is committed to building partnerships between school districts and their communities to transform high schools into communities that offer excellent conditions for teaching and learning, for all students.
SNS is one of the first national district-change initiatives at the high-school level. By enhancing school capabilities, strengthening school districts, and engaging and connecting the community, the primary SNS goal is to ensure that all young people have equal access to an excellent education that prepares them for postsecondary education, an increasingly demanding workforce, and engaged and active citizenship.
AED, in partnership with the Annenberg Institute for School Reform, Community Involvement Project, and Collaborative Communications Group, led a nationwide technical assistance network for the initiative.
AED and the technical support team supported the seven SNS sites in two major ways.
- Providing direct consultation and support to each site to select strategies for comprehensive secondary school reform; foster stable and effective leadership; and identify and mobilize existing strengths in communities to create a sustainable secondary school reform movement.
- Developing a "Learning Network" among the sites to ensure that problems are jointly addressed and that the sites' knowledge and successes are widely shared. Learning Network activities include a large cross-site "Learning Institute" and smaller topical and regional meetings, as well as the development of a listserve, website, and resource database.
Since the program's inception, funded SNS districts have divided large high schools into small learning communities and/or started new small schools to provide personal attention to students; revamped curricula to make schools more engaging to adolescents; and forged new partnerships with businesses and community agencies to provide opportunities for out-of-school learning and support sweeping changes in high schools.
Science, Gender, and After-School (2001-03)
This project, undertaken in collaboration with Educational Equity Concepts, aimed to enhance the role of afterschool in increasing girls' participation in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics courses, majors, and careers. The project culminated in the development of Science, Gender, and After-School: A Research-Action Agenda, arising from discussions during a fall 2001 conference funded by the National Science Foundation's Program for Gender Equity.
Teacher Leaders for Mathematics Success Evaluation
(1999-2004)
AED conducted a five-year evaluation of the Teacher Leaders for Mathematics Success (TL= MS) program, conducted by Lehman College, in collaboration with the six Bronx community school districts. The project sought to build the capacity of Bronx teachers and schools with rigorous, standards-based mathematics curricula to support continuous improvement in mathematics education for all students, aligned with city, state, and national standards. AED investigated the program's impact through surveys of teachers and administrators; interviews with administrators and teacher-leaders; focus groups with groups of students; and observations of classrooms and professional development activities. In summary, AED's evaluation determined that TL=MS teachers gained math knowledge and skills and outperformed a nationally representative sample of teachers. TL=MS also had strong positive effects on students' engagement in mathematics instruction and achievement.
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