Resources

Key Publications

The Education Alliance's publications catalog is home to numerous resources related to the most pressing education issues, including School Improvement and Diversity. Here we list the most recent and relevant publications to the CSR Support and Capacity Building Project.

Claiming Opportunities: A Handbook for Improving Education for English Language Learners Through Comprehensive School Reform

Despite the concurrent growth of ELL students and CSR, research shows that strategies to improve education for all students through CSR have not adequately considered the needs of ELLs. Claiming Opportunities: A Handbook for Improving Education for English Language Learners through Comprehensive School Reform, addresses the problem by presenting existing research on both CSR and ELL-responsiveness and suggesting how the two educational improvement efforts can be integrated.
order/download info >>

Leadership Capacities for a Changing Environment: State and District Responses to the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001

Drawing from five separate research studies, this book outlines the policies, structures, and supports that New England states and school districts are creating and implementing to improve student achievement in low-performing districts and schools. The book, a joint product of The Education Alliance at Brown University and RMC Research Corporation, also takes a critical look at the demands on educational leaders in a complex, high-expectations environment following the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
order/download info >>

Leading With Diversity: Cultural Competencies for Teacher Preparation and Professional Development

As the student population in our schools becomes increasingly diverse, many teachers need professional development to build cultural competencies - the skills and awareness related to issues such as culture, language, race, and ethnicity. To address this need, Leading With Diversity provides current research-based information on cultural competencies that will help inform the design of professional development. This resource is designed for higher education, state-, and district-level educators and professional developers who are preparing teachers to work with students from diverse cultural and linguistic backgrounds.
order/download info >>

Web Sites

The following is a brief listing of Web sites that provide districts and schools with the latest information, tools, and resources for making informed decisions about school improvement efforts.

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement

The Center for Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Reform and Improvement is a central source of information for districts and schools interested in information about comprehensive school reform and school improvement. The site provides a well-developed set of guides and tools to assist districts and schools in planning, implementing, and evaluating whole-school improvement efforts. The site also provides a listing of the latest research and publications on comprehensive school reform and improvement, including a searchable database of literature.

www.centerforcsri.org

Comprehensive School Reform Quality Center

The CSR Quality Center, funded through the federal CSR Quality Initiative, provides tools and assistance to help educators make research-based decisions about choosing a high-quality, whole-school reform model. The tools and resources include a set of research-based reports on widely used whole-school reform models that provide ratings on the effectiveness in improving student performance and other academic outcomes. The reports are a companion to the Catalog of School Reform Models developed by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL).

www.csrq.org

Catalog of School Reform Models

The NWREL, in partnership with the Center for CSR Reform and Improvement, supports and houses the Catalog of School Reform Models. The catalog is designed to help district- and school-level educators investigate and select a whole-school reform model that best meets the needs of their school. The catalog provides descriptions of whole-school reform models, including contact information, the types of implementation assistance and related costs, and the research upon which the model is based.

www.nwrel.org/scpd/catalog/

CSR Awards Database

The CSR Awards Database, administered by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL), is a searchable national database of schools that have been awarded federal CSR program funds to implement CSR programs. The database includes all schools awarded funds since the beginning of the federal program in 1998 through 2005. Districts and schools interested in engaging in whole-school reform are encouraged to use this database to find schools with experience using particular models and implementing whole-school reform.

www.sedl.org/csr/awards.html

Teaching Diverse Learners

The Teaching Diverse Learners site is a vital resource for teachers working with culturally diverse populations, especially English language learners (ELLs). The site includes detailed sections on teaching and learning strategies, student assessment, policy guidance, engagement of families and communities, and grant opportunities. The site provides access to the ongoing results of the Alliance's national work on teaching diverse students and is organized around a comprehensive database of best practices/resources for teaching diverse learners.

www.alliance.brown.edu/tdl/