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Last modified December 13, 2001 (slh)
The four institutes at the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) are co-sponsoring two major 5-year projects to develop new knowledge about how the concept of high-performance organizations can be applied in schools and school districts. Both projects are designed to combine research theory with insights from best practice. The four sponsoring institutes are: National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking, and Management; National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students; National Institute on Early Childhood Development and Education; and National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum, and Assessment. The two contracts began in October, 1996 and will end in September, 2001.
The two studies use different research methods, but they address similar issues:
Set in New York City's Community School District #2, the HPLC Project is a joint research venture between District #2, researchers from Harvard University and the Learning Research and Development Center (LRDC) at the University of Pittsburgh. The project explores how District #2 moves towards standards-based education and the impact of this shift on learning communities and their practices at the district, school and classroom levels. In this project, researchers and practitioners work together to extend theory, understand practice at the district, school, and classroom levels, and produce a family of cognitive "tools" for widespread use. For example, the Instruction and Learning Profile, a self-study instrument, helps schools reflect upon and improve their practice. For general Inquiries, contact Nancy Israel, HPLC Project Manager at the address below. (Budget: $6,177,464 for 5 years)
Lauren B. Resnick, Richard Elmore, and Anthony J. Alvarado
Learning Research and Development Center
University of Pittsburgh
3939 O'Hara Street
Pittsburgh, PA 15260
Phone: 412-624-7452
Fax: 412-624-3051
Email: nisrael@vms.cis.pitt.edu
RPP International directs a project designed to identify and develop strategies that schools, and particularly low-income schools, can use to become high performance learning communities (HPLC's). The Project began by forming a Consortium of low-income schools in California and Oregon. The project then developed principles of high performing and equitable schools (HPLC Principles) drawing both on existing research and through working with the Consortium schools. The HPLC Project builds schools' capacity to implement these HPLC Principles by helping school community members develop the key skills and habits of mind necessary for continuous improvement. The project develops tools and provides schools with a scaffold of support consisting of networking, coaching, technical assistance, and research. The Project aims to identify the strategies Consortium schools use to bring about high achievement and equity so that we may replicate and disseminate strategies throughout larger communities. The HPLC Project has collaborated with the Bay Area Coalition of Essential Schools, California Tomorrow, the University of California Graduate School of Education, and the Oregon Department of Education. For information, contact David Chambliss (david@rppintl.com) at the address below. (Budget: 5,945,279 for 5 years)
Paul Berman
RPP International
1900 Powell Street, Suite 200
Emeryville, CA 94608
Phone: 510-450-2550
Fax: 510-450-0113
Email: mailto:david@rppintl.com