As school reform movements became part of the national dialogue in the 1970s, Ron Edmonds decided to study those schools that were deemed successful in educating children and determine what seemed to be the common traits among them. What began as one man's curiosity exploded into a reform movement that flourished for the next twenty years and still has implications in education today.

According to the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory <http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/natspec/catalog/center.htm>, the precepts of the effective school movement are:

• A clear and focused mission on learning for all
• Instructional leadership
• High expectations for all stakeholders
• Opportunity to learn and student time on task
• Frequent monitoring of student progress
• Safe and orderly environment for learning
• Positive home/school/community relations

Here are a dozen sites that tout the work of Edmonds and the movement he spawned. Thanks to Jerry Blumengarten for his suggestions re this week's top resources!

• Beating the Odds - http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/pearson/ppoint/portland_effective/tsld001.htm
  Subtitled "Lessons from Effective Schools and Teachers," this virtual slide show by Taylor and Pearson presents a study of fourteen schools to discover what instructional practices are used by the most accomplished primary grade teachers and by teachers in the most effective schools. Using qualitative case studies, they come up with common traits among the schools studied that suggest a formula for success.
• Closing the Achievement Gap - http://www.ncpublicschools.org/closingthegap/dpi_archive.html
  The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction archives this impressive collection of research and articles on school reform. Titles include Improve the Achievement of Under-performing Students, Closing the Achievement Gap: Views from Nine Schools and the Student Achievement Gap Pilot Program. You can also view Student Achievement Scores from 1993 - 1998 for the state and Trends in Student Achievement since 1993.
• Common Elements of Effective Schools - http://www.educationworld.com/a_issues/issues168.shtml
  Education World editors Diane Weaver Dunne and Ellen Delisio examine what works in urban schools like the Mother Hale Elementary Academy and The Knowledge Is Power Middle School in the South Bronx, and the Crossroads Middle School in Manhattan. Results are closely tied to effective schools precepts as documented elsewhere in the literature. There's a link to an interview with David Levin, the principal of the Knowledge Is Power Program and Crossroads Principal Ann Weiner, as well as "More Than Reading Scores and Stereotypes: The Voices of City Teachers."
• Effective Schools and Teachers - http://www1.worldbank.org/education/est/
  The World Bank offers this international look at effective schools reform, from Africa through Latin America to Asia, there is much compelling material here. The Knowledge Resource Base offers a nice visual schematic of the effective schools model and links to significant resources categorized by such practical headings as articles, case studies, checklists, training presentations, and links. All materials are free and the recommended resources are as global as the materials housed on-site.
• Effective Schools Research - http://www.bced.gov.bc.ca/abed/research/esr/toc.htm
  The Ministry of Education for the province of British Columbia presents this nicely done, succinct rendering of the tents of effective schools research, replete with hyperlinked references to help you dig further. Topics covered are Shared Responsibility, Parental Involvement, Teacher Expectations, Recognizing Cultural Differences, Relevant Learning, Research-Based Instructional Practices, Personal Responsibility, Safe, Orderly Learning Environments, Focus on Academic Learning, Teacher Encouragement and Frequent Monitoring of Progress.
• Essential Sources of School Success - http://www.mdk12.org/practices/benchmark/improve/study/index.html
  This Maryland study showcase the successful implementation of effective schools research in 15 individual schools across the state. And it's all here, from the rationale and methodology to the case studies and findings. Nicely formatted with easy to read text and graphics that nicely accent the report without becoming distracting, this is must reading for any school system considering moving towards an effective schools model.
• Reform Models - http://oviraptor.wested.org/models/
  The Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration project presents this nice compilation of all kinds of reform programs that have been tested and touted in the schools. All programs are research-based and cover everything from the Accelerated Schools Project and Co-NECT to High Schools that Work and Urban Learning Centers. Of particular interest is the additional resources which are free and fairly comprehensive on their own: Selecting School Reform Models: A Reference Guide for States, The Catalog of School Reform Models, An Educators' Guide to Schoolwide Reform and Continuum of Evidence of Effectiveness (USDE). Five dollar instructional videotapes are also available on this site.
• Safe, Drug-Free and Effective Schools for ALL Students: What Works! - http://www.air.org/cecp/resources/safe&drug_free/main.htm
  The Center for Effective Collaboration and Practice and the United States Department of education conducted this study of three sites from around the country and was conducted using 18 focus groups, the 3 expert panels and a literature review to determine the attributes of successful schools across demographics and regions. The results include recommendations for intervention and collaboration. Program materials, meeting agendas, focus group questions and contact information for all participants is included on site.
• School Reform Networks - http://llanes.panam.edu/reform/srn/intro
  This extensive look at the best known reform movements in education is compiled and kept current by the students of Dr. José R. Llanes at the University of Texas Pan American. The only criteria used to identify networks that support these major reform movements is that "the group must have over 25 members and its services must be available to any school districts across the nation who wishes to join." There are more than 75 networks names here, some of which have been evaluated by Dr. Llanes' students already and others which are in the process of being reviewed. You can look at the programs alphabetically by name or by category of educational need.
• Success for All - http://inex.andrews.edu/portfolio/Sample%20Work/pburton/slide1.htm
  Here is a slide show presentation of the 1988 Slavin study done for Johns Hopkins using one inner-city Baltimore school. Ten years later there are more than 450 schools in the study. This presentation outlines the ideas of Edmonds and presents data from the study to support the fundamental notion that all children can learn, regardless of ethnicity or demographics. Twenty-nine slides in all - fairly fast loading.
• Successful School Guide - http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/sig/index.html
  The state of Wisconsin offers this well-designed look at its statewide effective schools initiative, including standards, assessments, best practices, effective schools research and recent data on schools county-by-county and how they are faring on state testing, attendance, and other tangible measures of success. Data is presented numerically and in graph form, with links for further investigation into the goings-on at each school. What a great way to consider how your own school(s) stack up against those who already have an effective schools initiative in place!
• Transforming Education - http://www.newhorizons.org/restructuring.html
  New Horizons for Learning offers this grass roots look at school reform articles, recommended reading, and related links. More impressive though are the contributions from teachers actually implementing reform in their classrooms, critical questions that need to be asked and suggestions for action in your own school system. This offers a nice hands-on approach to school reform that complements the research-based proposals you'll find at other sites.
  

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