Magnet schools have developed strong national and local constituencies among parents and educators, who see them as vehicles for bringing equity and academic excellence to all students. Typically, these schools offer innovative programs through a specialized focus or theme. They may emphasize subjects like science or the arts, or they may adopt distinct instructional models, like those of Montessori or International Baccalaureate programs. Magnet schools provide choices for families and students whose neighborhood school may not serve a student's interests talents, and aptitudes. By offering a specialized curriculum, they attract students from varied backgrounds, creating diversity within learning communities and providing opportunities for beneficial education outcomes. This guide focuses on developing and sustaining successful magnet schools. Six elementary and middle school magnets are highlighted. District challenges are discussed, and strategies used in the planning and implementation phases of their development are analyzed. The report identifies factors that allow them to keep the school doors open as magnet schools that are built to last. The guide concludes with a discussion of sustaining integrity of vision and mission as these schools face challenges common to many districts and schools across the country today. Featured schools include: (1) A. B. Combs Leadership Magnet Elementary School, Raleigh, NC; (2) FAIR (Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resource School), Crystal, MN; (3) Mabel Hoggard Math and Science Magnet School, Las Vegas, NV; (4) Normal Park Museum Magnet School, Chattanooga, TN; (5) Raymond Academy for Engineering, Houston, TX; and (6) River Glen Elementary & Middle School, San Jose, CA. Two appendixes include: (1) Research Methodology; and (2) Resources. (Contains 19 notes, 9 figures and 3 tables.).

"The return to K–8 schools is an opportunity to step back, be purposeful and thoughtful, and plan for what we want for young persons in our schools. This book provides the vision and the tools we need to plan and build something better in Grades K–8." —Heather MacTaggart, Executive Director Classroom Connections, Ontario, Canada A how-to guide for developing or transitioning to a K–8 school! The K–8 model for school design has gained popularity with educators and parents for demonstrating higher student achievement, fewer behavioral problems, and increased cost effectiveness. This comprehensive guide provides school leaders with the tools to develop and implement a sound plan for creating an exemplary K-8 school or transitioning successfully to the K–8 approach. Developing Successful K–8 Schools offers strategies for designing curriculum aligned to state standards, promoting 21st-century skills, planning instruction, and evaluating an effective K–8 program. Readers will also find: Ten proven instructional methods for meeting the learning needs of K–8 students, plus examples that illustrate how to apply the strategies and deal with problems that might arise Student assessment techniques and record-keeping procedures Implementation tools such as checklists, activity charts, and much more! This resource is ideal for school leaders who want to articulate a clear vision for a K–8 school and stay on the cutting edge of educational excellence and student achievement.

Children in today's world are inundated with information about who to be, what to do and how to live. But what if there was a way to teach children how to manage priorities, focus on goals and be a positive influence on the world around them? The Leader in Meis that programme. It's based on a hugely successful initiative carried out at the A.B. Combs Elementary School in North Carolina. To hear the parents of A. B Combs talk about the school is to be amazed. In 1999, the school debuted a programme that taught The 7 Habits of Highly Effective Peopleto a pilot group of students. The parents reported an incredible change in their children, who blossomed under the programme. By the end of the following year the average end-of-grade scores had leapt from 84 to 94. This book will launch the message onto a much larger platform. Stephen R. Covey takes the 7 Habits, that have already changed the lives of millions of people, and shows how children can use them as they develop. Those habits -- be proactive, begin with the end in mind, put first things first, think win-win, seek to understand and then to be understood, synergize, and sharpen the saw -- are critical skills to learn at a young age and bring incredible results, proving that it's never too early to teach someone how to live well.

Since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB), families have more freedom than ever before to make decisions about how their children are educated. Thanks to a wide array of public school choice options, including charter and magnet schools, families can customize their children's learning, which is translating into improved academic achievement throughout the nation. In the classroom itself, individualized instruction can yield tremendous results for students. Magnet schools in particular are excellent examples of how specialized programs can spark enthusiasm for learning and catalyze academic growth in students whose interests and aptitudes may not be fulfilled by their neighborhood schools. Magnets like the six elementary and middle schools profiled in this guide use themed instruction in such subjects as fine arts, leadership, and engineering to meet the needs of students from diverse backgrounds and interests. For many years, magnet schools offered families the dominant form of public school choice in America, first appearing in the 1960s as a tool to increase racial desegregation and resolve educational inequities. It may not seem fitting to deem these schools “innovative” since they have been around for nearly 40 years. However, magnet schools have a new and expanded role under NCLB, and their power for systemic reform has yet to be fully realized. In addition to maintaining diverse student populations and advancing school choice, magnet schools are reversing declining district enrollments, turning around low student performance, and serving as laboratories for promising education practices. The schools highlighted in this publication have achieved these goals despite such obstacles as budgetary constraints, the demoralizing effects of poverty, and children entering with skills far below grade level. Uniting these schools is the belief that education can empower families and revitalize communities and that every student—regardless of race, income, or zip code—deserves to be challenged and can achieve. As one administrator at a profiled school asserts, “If you can dream it, you can build it.” This guide provides examples of promising strategies and case studies for district leaders and school staff interested in building and growing their own magnet schools. The schools profiled here have adopted continuous improvement plans based on data. As a result, their students' achievement has improved significantly.

Challenging policymakers, educators, reformers, and citizens to replace piecemeal reforms with fundamental redesign, First Things First! calls for a different way of organizing the American primary school. Ruby Takanishi outlines a new framework for integrating early education with primary education (pre-K–5), including both short- and long-term strategies, that starts with 3- and 4-year-olds. Featuring portraits of primary schools that have successfully integrated pre–K, the book includes resources on dual-language learners, dual-generation family engagement, effective philanthropy, rethinking advocacy, and more. The book centers on four basic questions: Why should the United States design a new primary school as children’s first, widely shared educational experience? How can the educators of the new primary school use new knowledge about how children learn to improve their practice? What will it take to create a new primary school that educates all children well? How can the design of the new primary school reflect demographic, social, linguistic, and cultural changes and adapt to the requirements of a global economy? First Things First! reframes the basic structure of traditional primary education, challenging us to get the early years of a 21st-century public education system off to a new and stronger start. “The vision of a new primary school model in this book should be studied by all workers in the fields of education, human development, and social policy. The scholarship in this book is impeccable and the arguments advanced by this leading scholar are most convincing. Further, the book is beautifully written.” —Edward Zigler, Sterling Professor of Psychology Emeritus, Yale University “Takanishi makes a compelling case that enabling all American children to achieve their potential requires both expansion of high-quality preschool and fundamental changes in how our public elementary schools serve young students.” —Sara Mead, Bellwether Education Partners “Dr. Takanishi has laid out a vision and approach to schooling that is comprehensive, forward-looking, and versed in strong evidence. This is must-reading for educators, leaders, policymakers, and researchers.” —Arthur Reynolds, University of Minnesota