The author, a veteran ESL teacher, describes a set of specific supports to help long-term English language learners make academic progress that he and other teachers piloted at Luther Burbank High School in California. The interventions included a daily academic support class; monitoring this group's academic progress; "cohorting" them…

Kelly Gallagher writes that "wide swaths of students are not developing their writing skills--skills we know to be foundational to their literate lives." In this article, he explains how school districts can go about developing students' writing skills in all content-area classrooms. He highlights five reasons why students should write…

In this brief article, Windsor High School (California) English language arts teacher Catlin Tucker describes how advancements in technology have not only allowed her students to connect, communicate, and collaborate with peers beyond the classroom, it has also done the same for her as an educator. In 2010, Tucker began blogging as an outlet for…

"How in the world are we supposed to apply the Common Core writing standards to teaching English language learners?" The authors propose a tentative answer to a question that has been troubling educators of late. Educators, they suggest, need to keep in mind three crucial elements: Students should (1) begin by reading more informational…

Summit San Jose is part of the Summit Public Schools network, a group of charter schools in California's Bay Area. In 2011, when Summit San Jose first opened its new high school with a cohort of 9th graders, the teachers decided to pilot Khan Academy. At the time, they had piloted their math resources and platform with five classrooms in Los…

To create the kinds of school-family partnerships that raise student achievement, improve local communities, and increase public support, schools need to understand the difference between family involvement and family engagement. Schools that emphasize the latter tend toward doing with families, rather than doing to families. These schools do more…

Teachers and administrators at Health Sciences High and Middle College in San Diego, California, wanted to create a grading system that reflected understanding while still encouraging students to practice. They developed course competencies, or performance assessments, that teachers use to measure what students know and can do with the concepts…