A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Mission

To build capacity to bring about lasting improvements in the learning of the mid-Atlantic region's increasingly diverse student population. The ultimate goal of the LSS is to establish a system of research, development, and dissemination that connects schools, parents, community agencies, professional groups, and higher education institutions; gradually expands reform efforts in the region; and is part of a high-tech national system for exchanging information.

Key Initiatives

Guided by the overarching mission of finding ways to achieve academic success for each student in the mid-Atlantic region as well as in urban communities throughout the nation the LSS aims to achieve what has in the past proven to be a difficult task: transforming research-based knowledge into useful tools that can be integrated into the educational reform process. Accordingly, the interdisciplinary team of LSS researchers and field-based professionals are engaged in a 5-year program of work that includes three broad-based initiatives:

A field-based development and applied research initiative that focuses on: (1) building a procedural knowledge-base for identifying, developing, and implementing effective practices and policies that foster educational resilience and learning success for children and youth in the mid-Atlantic region, particularly those who live in isolated rural areas and inner-city communities; (2) identifying and studying ways to enhance institutional capacities that provide a coherent and coordinated system of delivery in efforts to connect schools, families, and the community in systemic ways in the service of healthy development and educational success of children and youth; and (3) developing knowledge-based products and communication processes that educators and related service providers can apply in their efforts to improve student outcomes and establish and sustain successful reform.

A program of outreach and services to the field that serves as a regional resource that facilitates and enhances the capacity of the mid-Atlantic region for achieving student success. The LSS Services to the Field initiative includes three major components: (1) collecting and disseminating knowledge-based information and products on effective and promising practices and policies for grassroots educational services to professionals, policymakers, parents, students, and the general public, using multiple outreach strategies and tools; (2) providing sustained client-based assistance to states and local school districts to implement systemic improvements through an integrated series of professional development and technical assistance programs; and (3) establishing and sustaining collaborative demonstrations of whole-school reform.

Forging strategic alliances and learning communities to expand the LSS outreach capacity for servicing the needs of the field by building on the resources and expertise of regional and national professional organizations, state education agencies, local school districts and schools, colleges and universities, and other cultural and education agencies. This initiative has resulted in the establishment of the Mid-Atlantic Network of Superintendents and Deans; a series of national invitational conferences on emerging issues and next-step plans co-sponsored by the LSS and a variety of educational and related services agencies at state and national levels; and collaborative studies with state education agencies and local schools in building the procedural knowledge base on how to implement what works in achieving student success.

Signature Programs

The Community for Learning (CFL) program is a whole-school reform model that connects the school, the family, and the community to implement a coordinated approach to achieve student success. At the core of CFL is an integrated design framework that emphasizes the implementation of a powerful instructional program and a collaborative process that links the resources and expertise of schools with other learning environments, including homes, churches, libraries, public-and private-sector workplaces, and postsecondary institutions. Education programs conducted in these environments are coordinated with those of various government agencies, such as health and social services, housing, and law enforcement. These programs are connected with community revitalization efforts to create a broad-based commitment to improve learning and competence of children and youth and the adults who serve them — in short, a Community for Learning.

20/20 Analysis for Instructional Planning is a planning tool for developing an integrative service delivery strategy that focuses on ensuring that students who show the least and most progress on significant outcome variables receive intensive instruction and related service support. The 20/20 Analysis provides school staff with an analytic procedure for identifying students most in need of special help within a given class, school, or district. By identifying students in the lowest and highest 20^th percentiles in selected student outcome areas (e.g., achievement in specific subject matter areas, attendance, discipline referrals), school staff are able to pinpoint those students for whom the existing instructional and related service program delivery is least effective, and determine ways to refine and adapt present practice and policies to meet students' individual needs.

The LSS National Invitational Conference Series is a forum for addressing emerging issues of national importance and formulating next-step solutions. A major goal of the LSS National Invitational Conference Series is to cull from research and practical knowledge on what works and what does not work to significantly improve this nation's capacity to achieve healthy development and educational success of children and families. A major outcome of the series is the opportunity to exchange information and viewpoints mutually beneficial to the design and implementation of classroom practice, research priorities, and identify pressing technical assistance and professional development needs.

The Effects of School Reform on Educational Improvement program examines the implementation and effects of comprehensive approaches to improving teaching and learning in schools with a high concentration of students from economically and educationally disadvantaged circumstances. The twofold goal of the program is to: (1) develop a national database on program features, implementation requirements, and outcomes of Title I schoolwide programs that informs policymakers and practitioners on what works; and (2) provide information and assistance to states, districts, and local schools to develop, implement, and maintain a high degree of implementation of schoolwide programs that are effective in achieving student success.

The LSS Model for Professional Development and Implementation of School Reform is a continuous process of learning from and building on diverse expertise and strategies for achieving student success. The goal of the LSS Professional Development program is to disseminate knowledge and practical applications drawn from the best and most promising research and innovative development efforts to the widest possible audience in the mid-Atlantic region and nationally using multiple outreach strategies and tools.

The Analysis of Family, Community, and School Characteristics and Their Impact on Student Achievement program is designed to gain an understanding of the processes leading to the concentration of low-income and minority students into schools characterized by high rates of poverty. This research program focuses on improving the capacity of urban schools to achieve education success of students placed in economically disadvantaged circumstances.

The School-Family Partnerships to Enhance Academic Achievement and Social Competence in Urban Children program develops and implements strategies and produces materials that will enhance two-way communication between parents and teachers and increase parent involvement both in home and school learning activities. The program encourages parents and teachers to work together to promote children's academic and social competence.

Specialty Area

Urban Education. The LSS Urban Education Enhancement Program serves as a national resource for improving the capacity for healthy development and education of children and youth in our nation's urban communities. This program includes four major projects: (1) establishing collaborative demonstrations of whole-school reform led by local schools; (2) conducting studies of effective Title I schoolwide projects; (3) providing professional development and technical assistance to assist urban school districts in designing, implementing, and evaluating knowledge-based reforms; and (4) providing a national information dissemination program on what works in improving urban schools. The dissemination program includes national invitational conferences, discussion forums, and the distribution of information and products through print, electronic media and professional organizations, and technical assistance provider agencies.

Selected Recent Products

Achieving Student Success: A Handbook of Widely Implemented Research-based Educational Reform Models is a decisionmaking tool for schools and school districts interested in implementing comprehensive school reform. This is also an interactive online tool that is available at http://www.reformhandbook-LSS.org. (1998).

Resilience Across Contexts: Family, Work, Culture, and Community (in press, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers) addresses the ways to improve practices and policies that promote resilience development of children and families faced with some of the most challenging life circumstances (1999).

Education in Cities: School Choice vs. Best Systems (in press, Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc., Publishers) provides an overview of research and practical applications of innovative school reforms being implemented across the nation (1999-2000).

The LSS Spotlight on Student Success Series is a two-page research brief series that provides a summary of research findings based on the work of LSS researchers. Current titles address science standards and their implications for teacher education; the association of African-American mothers' perceptions of their neighborhood with their parenting and adolescent adjustment; and Laying the groundwork for a new generation of policy research: Commentary on "Knowledge utilization in educational policy and politics."

The LSS Partnerships Series contains practical guides for parents and teachers to encourage positive parent-teacher relationships. Current titles include: Building healthy homework habits and Building girls' interest and achievement in science and math.

Community for Learning Video Series and Community for Learning: Building on Diversity.

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This page last modified 25 October 1999. (lvb)