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Continuous School Improvement
Communities of Practice



Resources & Publications

Newsletter

Education Initiatives began publishing its quarterly newsletter, Review, in 2001.

Brochure

Education Initiatives published a brochure describing its work in the fall of 2004.

Research Reports

Using What We Have to Get the Schools We Need: A Productivity Focus for American Education In 1995, the foundation convened a group of scholars from various sectors to examine some of the issues facing public education in America. Their report identified subsystems in education and their relationship to one another. The report concluded that because the subsystems are all interconnected, piecemeal reforms of those subsystems will fail to create lasting and meaningful change.
20/20 Vision: A Strategy for Doubling Academic Achievement by the Year 2020 In 1998, a follow-up report offered eight strategies to cut in half the percentage of students performing at the basic level or below on examinations, such as the National Assessment of Educational Progress in reading, math, and science, within two decades.

Community of Practice Reports

For background on the foundation's community of practice work, read the primer, "The Practice of Communities of Practice in School Districts," by Joann Ricci and Myron Rogers.

The Partnership Learning Network (PLN) is building a global community of practice across the foundation's partnerships. This effort began at two PLN meetings: the first in August 2003 and the second in January 2004. Click below to view reports from these meetings:

School Design Collaborative Handbook

The School Design Collaborative (SDC) is a data-driven school improvement process that incorporates shared leadership and decision-making. Developed in 1992, SDC has been adopted by schools to develop their internal ability to affect positive changes resulting in increased student achievement and parental satisfaction. This model uses a team approach to address improvement opportunities at the school. The model also allows participants to have greater ownership of school issues and, in turn, promotes better communication, understanding, and support among all those with a stake in the school.

When the foundation initially developed the School Design Collaborative, an outside facilitator or consultant was intended to lead teams through the process. Hiring a consultant, however, is not a realistic option for all school communities and that many districts have adopted shared decision making models other than SDC. Teams with 5-7 members, whether facilitated by an outside consultant or self-facilitated, including teachers, parents, principals, and other stakeholders, can benefit from the School Design Collaborative, and that the process and the tools can help schools reach higher levels of student achievement.

You are invited to use the School Design Collaborative handbook as a guide toward increasing productivity and achievement in your school. In order for us to obtain feedback on the tools and process provided in the handbook, we ask you to register with the foundation by sending us an e-mail with your contact information, school district, and how you first learned about SDC. We will then provide you with a password that allows you to download the handbook from the link below.

SDC Handbook (pdf) - password protected

Education Initiatives Web Site PDF Files