Sustained professional development can support STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) reform. The authors describe a 3-year study of sustained professional development for 3 diverse urban schools across the salient factors of fidelity of implementation of project-based learning, development of professional learning communities,…

Principals are isolated in their work and suffer from low morale. The role of the principal has become increasingly complex and demanding especially within the current accountability model with the public nature of school report cards. This is a problem in Rocky Top Public Schools and in school districts across the country. The purpose of this…

Teacher collaboration has become an increasingly important lever for school improvement efforts. This is especially true in high need urban districts, which struggle with capacity building in the face of significant teacher turnover, major shifts in curriculum and instruction, and scarce resources. This paper employs a mixed methods approach to…