Center for Education Policy

The importance of parents to the success of students in schools and to school improvement has long been established and acknowledged by researchers and educators. In this
article, we present a fourth–generation model of school–family linkages, one anchored in
understandings of schools as communities as opposed to schools as institutions. Our model is based on an analysis and synthesis of the relevant recent empirical evidence. We
extend the narrative of school–parent relationships by highlighting ‘norms of community’ school leaders can cultivate to promote membership, partnership and ownership.

Virtual charter schools have emerged over the last decade as an increasingly popular alternative to traditional public schooling. They present a host of new policy problems that need to be scrutinized in order to ensure that students enrolled in these public schools are receiving an adequate, if not excellent, education. The purpose of this article is to synthesize the inchoate body of literature that presently exists regarding the topic to provide a backing for future policy making. In this article I first describe the landscape in which virtual charter schools have emerged, then I describe how virtual charter schools have grown and how they operate, and finally I discuss the sparse findings on effectiveness and how research can inform the continued development of these schools.

Few concepts are more noted in the leadership effects research than vision. It is a cardinal element in the school improvement equation as well. Yet, it remains one of the least well-specified components of that algorithm. Based on a comprehensive review of the research on effective leadership and school improvement from 1995 to 2012, we bring ‘concreteness’ to our understanding of vision. We identify its three essential dimensions. More importantly, we provide tangible scaffolding for each of these dimensions, scaffolding that should sharpen research in this area and guide the work of those who desire to bring this ethereal concept to life in schools.

Leading Researcher Joseph Murphy and his colleague Daniela Torre shed light on two critical issues in education today: student underachievement and how to build effective, high-performing schools. Murphy draws from considerable research and scholarship in the area of school reform. This research is based on meaningful links with the worlds of practice and policy, and builds upon our most robust understanding about school improvement. The book examines the historical footings of the American public school to expose the economic, political, social, and cultural currents that have shaped and continue to influence our understanding of public education and underachievement.

Front Matter Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review and Framework

English learners (Els), defined as students who are identified as needing support learning English in school, are a rapidly growing and underperforming segment of the public school population. Schools in new immigrant destinations, that is, areas in the United States that traditionally have not had a large immigrant population, are having to create new structures and policies to support and instruct Els. This study focuses on the schooling experiences of English learners in North Carolina, one new immigrant destination. Specifically, this study documents two classroom characteristics: the extent to which Els are segregated from native English speakers and whether Els have access to teachers who have an English as a Second Language teaching credential or experience teaching Els. Additionally, it estimates the relationship between these two classroom characteristics and achievement using OLS regression and regression with school and student fixed effects. Results include that: 1) Els are largely integrated with native English speakers; that is, they are typically enrolled in classes where the majority of their peers are native English speakers; 2) Less that 5% of Els are taught by an ESL credentialed teacher but over 50% of Els are taught by an El experienced teacher 3) There is little evidence that being assigned to a segregated class or an ESL credentialed teacher impacts math or reading achievement; and 4) There is evidence that being assigned an El experienced teacher has a positive impact on math and reading achievement. Implications from this study include that policy makers in new immigrant destinations should focus on strengthening the English as a Second Language credentialing process, providing more hand-on training for teachers of Els, helping Els reclassify as English proficient before they reach middle school, and supporting schools where Els comprise a small proportion of the population.