Alabama Reading Initiative (ARI) is a multiyear effort to implement a scientifically based approach to reading instruction in all schools with grades K-3. Since 1998, using a process of continuous evaluation and improvement, the Alabama Reading Initiative has fashioned a multilayered professional development system that now trains and supports…

In this article, the author interviews two leading thinkers in the field of education. Richard Rothstein and Kati Haycock talk about the possibility of closing the achievement gap through education and face off on poverty, race, and school achievement. In his book, "Class and Schools" (Teachers College Press, 2004), Rothstein writes that "the…

The business services department staff found they could make a difference in a districtwide literacy initiative when they joined in school leaders' professional development.

In Florida, a group of paraprofessionals worked with students struggling to read at grade level. The students' gains show that the intensive attention of these professionals to small groups of students can make a significant difference. This article presents a study about the effectiveness of paraprofessionals' and teachers' instruction for…

The Reading Success Network (RSN) is a model for improving literacy schoolwide through peer coaching, ongoing assessments of children's learning, using data to inform teaching, specific instructional strategies, and a support network of RSN schools. Federally funded regional centers across the country provide on-site professional learning for…

Helping teachers decide the critical point when a young child is ready to learn and the appropriate strategy to use with that child is the crux of this successful program. Scaffolding Early Literacy is helping close the learning gap between higher-performing students and minority, special needs, and low socioeconomic students. (Contains 3…

The field of staff development needs better evaluation both to improve the effectiveness of teachers' learning experiences and to produce credible evidence that will garner more support for professional development. Getting serious about evaluating professional development demonstrates that a school system or school is truly serious about…