Schools are the only universally accessible institutions where there are enough adults to provide continuous support for children's growth, development, and success in life. Using the process pioneered by renowned child psychiatrist Dr. James P. Comer and his colleagues at the Yale School Development Program (SDP), this unique field guide offers school leaders, school staff, and teachers a comprehensive and effective framework for providing curriculum and instruction that help all children grow and develop along the pathways that support success both in school and in life. Combining research; evidence-based best practices; essential tools for planning, data analysis, assessment, and program evaluation; and a generous collection of charts, tables, and graphics, this book offers educators a state-of-the-art guide to: (1) Mobilizing all of the stakeholders in the learning community to support instructional excellence as a system responsibility; (2) Modeling of instructional excellence by school principals, district leaders, and university partners; (3) Aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment with standards and research-based best practices; (4) Linking child development to challenging and rigorous classroom instruction based on respect, trust, and high expectations for all students; (5) Teaching essentials of literacy, math, and science that provide positive developmental experiences for all learners; and (6) Teachers helping teachers for professional development and school improvement. This book is the first-ever published field guide to the tried, tested, and true methods used by the Comer Process to promote academic achievement and life success for all children. Following a foreword (Michael Fullan) and preface (Edward T. Joyner), this book is divided into 18 chapters: The Comer Process: Tried, Tested, and True (Edward T. Joyner); (2) Essential Understandings of the Yale School Development Program: A Reference Guide to the Comer Process (Michael Ben-Avie, Edward T. Joyner, and James P. Comer); (3) Systemic Reform: The School Development Program's Answer to Fragmentation (Edward T. Joyner and Christiane L. Emmons); (4) Systemic Reform: We Started with One School (Alice Hart, Miriam McLaughlin, Everol Ennis, and Steve Stone); (5) Curriculum Structure and Teacher Planning: Balancing, Aligning, and Assessing Students in the Standards-Based Curriculum (David A. Squires and Camille J. Cooper); (6) "Comer-in-the-Classroom": Linking the Essential Elements of the Comer Process to Classroom Practices (Fay E. Brown and Valerie Maholmes); (7) A Demonstration of Comer-in-the-Classroom (Carol Pickett Ray); (8) Mobilizing Schools for Instructional Excellence: Instructional Leadership Is a System Responsibility (Edward T. Joyner); (9) Maintaining Student Momentum Through Instructional Leadership: "And We Will Do It Again" (Marie B. Chauvet-Monchik); (10) "And This Is How We Will Do It": Comer Youth Voice Their Opinions about the Comer Process (The Comer Club Ambassadors of P.S. 138, Brooklyn, NY); (11) Performance Management: The Principal's First Priority (M. Ann Levett-Lowe); (12) Teachers Helping Teachers: A Process That Honors and Supports Teacher Development (J. Patrick Howley and Dawn K. Kelly); (13) Turning Nonreaders into Readers through Essentials of Literacy (Fay E. Brown); (14) Student Learning in Math and Science: Youth Development Matters (Michael Ben-Avie); (15) Guidelines for University-School Collaborations: A Report of Experience (Francis Roberts); (16) Implementation of Systemic Reform: Step by Step from Vision to Reality (Constance Clark); (17) Assessing Systemic Reform: How Do You Know That the Comer Process Is Making a Difference in Your School or District? (Christine L. Emmons); and (18) The Best Education for All Our Children (Edward T. Joyner). An index is also included.