SCHOOL APPROACH

At the school level, we concentrate on approaches that do the following:

	Strengthen school leadership by incorporating current research on student achievement and by facilitating collegial conversations through study groups.
	Provide individual coaching and professional development to administrators so that they can make the paradigm shift from being building managers to being instructional leaders.
	Use data collection and analysis of standardized tests and school-based, grade-level assessments to assess students' strengths and weaknesses.
	Foster the development of professional learning commmunities that build, distribute and sustain leadership and accountability for improving teaching and learning throughout the school.
	Identify an instructional focus by analyzing student performance data and goals; evaluating curriculum, instruction and assessment needs; and isolating primary strategies such as curriculum development, implementation of specific instructional strategies and development of assessment tools.
	Implement school-based professional development for staff and examine the resources available to support it.
	Improve instruction through walk throughs. Our approach to walk throughs has received national attention and gives a new twist to a traditional idea.
	Incorporate best practices of looking at student work to augment teacher learning and school-based curriculum reform.
	Improve instruction through the identification of best practices. We have experience working in low-performing elementary, middle and high schools and can help implement successful practices.