September/October 2007: Learning and teaching.
Career technical education; middle and high school reform; using assessment and other data to improve instruction; implementing a coherent, standards-based instructional program; teaching art, music and PE at the elementary level; educational options; pre-K and full-day kindergarten.
Deadline: July 2, 2007
November/December 2007: Closing the gap.
How schools are beating the odds to close the achievement gap; instructional strategies for English learners; culturally responsive instruction and leadership; finding quality teachers for difficult-to-staff schools; Response to Intervention; issues in special education; serving autistic students; improving the high school graduation rate.
Deadline: August 20, 2007
January/February 2008: Leading effective schools.
Professional learning communities; teacher and principal shared leadership; what makes an effective principal; principals as managers of the school improvement process; role of the central office in learning and teaching; balancing work and life; dealing with declining enrollment.
Deadline: Oct. 15, 2007
March/April 2008: Double issue: Health and human resources.
Healthy students - Developing resilient students and educators; student engagement and the emotional aspects of learning; educating the whole child - promoting work ethic, citizenship skills, critical thinking; school safety and mental health; student health.
Human resources - Recruiting teachers for hard-to-fill positions; leadership succession planning and the recruitment of diverse administrators; trends in teacher performance assessment; HR administrators as coaches of new administrators.
Deadline: Jan. 7, 2008
May/June 2008: Program Improvement schools/necessary reforms.
Practices of schools that have exited Program Improvement; placement of academic trustees in sanctioned schools; role of the principal, district leaders, county superintendents in sanctioned schools; impact of sanctions on school board members and the communities they represent; interventions that make a difference; District Assistance and Intervention Teams; financial implications of sanctions; alternative governance structures; implementation of the Essential Program Components.
Deadline: Feb. 19, 2008