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  Q & A: Reaching At-Risk Students Through ‘Real Talk’

  February 8, 2012 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  Paul Hernandez is an assistant professor whose research focuses on sociology of education and social inequality. His work with educators in lower-performing schools has helped at-risk students to achieve academically, personally and attend college.

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  After-School Programs Prove Key to Closing Gaps

  March 14, 2011 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  When the last bell rings at Van Buren Middle School in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the real “work” begins – that is, the after-school apprenticeships in fields as far-ranging as Mexican dance and community action. This is not school, plus two…

• Where Educators Lead Reform, Achievement Gaps are Closing

  March 7, 2011 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  Julie Palacios didn’t want to be a teacher. In college, she first studied to be a dentist. But she always enjoyed her class work in human development and she knew she was good with kids… “I guess I had to…

• A Day in the Life of a Parent Coordinator

  January 11, 2011 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  Communities and families play a critical role in raising student achievement — that’s something research shows and the NEA Priority School Campaign strongly supports. But it’s not easy. Building meaningful relationships between families and their schools is more than a…

• National Board Certification

  January 6, 2011 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  When sixth-grade teacher Cynthia Walker thinks back to the two-year process of national board certification, she recalls the months of sleepless nights but also the days of thoughtful discussion with her colleagues. “You start sharing ideas – what are you…

• Using the COMPASS to Success in Lehigh Valley

  January 5, 2011 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  With the average school counselor in Pennsylvania assigned to nearly 400 students each (almost twice the ratio recommended by the American School Counselor Association) plus increasing clerical or test-administration duties that have absolutely nothing to do with counseling or student…

• The Montana Way

  December 15, 2010 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  There are high schools on American Indian reservations in Montana where far more kids can’t pass a basic reading test than can. We’re talking proficiency rates of 13, 14 and 15 percent overall, according to state data So why are…

• Collaboration Involves Community in Lincoln

  December 3, 2010 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  When you invite parents and community members to tell you what they really think about their schools, especially in oft-forgotten communities where thousands of students have failed to graduate, don’t be surprised to hear a little shouting. “These parents weren’t…

• Progress Earns Virginia Schools Full Accreditation

  November 23, 2010 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  There’s a room inside Virginia’s Westwood Middle School where the walls are covered with the smiles of students, posed in their best clothes for the school photographer, their eyes looking straight at the teachers and administrators who meet weekly under…

• Collaboration and Change in Wellpinit

  November 10, 2010 by Mary Ellen Flannery

  The directions to Golden Eagles Elementary go something like this, “You will travel through a canyon, past a dam, up a steep incline with an S curve, and then basically start wondering if you have gone too far and missed…