Explore · I4I

Success Boston Coaching

2017

Success Boston Coaching (SBC) is a transition coaching program that provides one-on-one support to Boston Public Schools graduates during their first two years of college. Seven nonprofit organizations deliver coaching to 750+ students enrolled in over 30 nearby colleges. Coaches provide ongoing support on academic, financial, career, and personal topics through in-person meetings on and off campus, as well as via text, email, and phone. The program helps students navigate college culture, develop life skills and study skills, access campus resources, clarify goals, and build meaningful relationships. Partner colleges coordinate with coaches to facilitate services on campus. The Boston Foundation oversees the network and provides coaches with specialized training, including financial aid training from uAspire.

Postsecondary

enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies (eMINTS)

2015

The eMINTS (enhancing Missouri's Instructional Networked Teaching Strategies) program is a professional development intervention for teams of educators, especially those serving high-need students in grades 7 and 8. The program provides teachers with more than 250 hours of professional development spanning two years, including 126 hours of formal professional development in Year 1 and additional sessions in Year 2, plus monthly classroom visits and on-site coaching (9-10 sessions totaling about 14 hours). Teachers learn to design high-quality inquiry-based lesson plans, implement inquiry-based learning strategies, build community among teachers and students, and integrate technology into classroom instruction. The program is based on four research-based components: inquiry-based learning, high-quality lesson design, community of learners, and technology integration. A certified eMINTS instructional specialist (eIS) provides formal and individualized professional development to teachers and communicates with principals and technology coordinators. Teachers also develop classroom websites and participate in within-building communities of practice.

7th Grade 8th Grade

Florida Master Teacher Initiative (FMTI)

2015

The Florida Master Teacher Initiative (FMTI) is a collaborative professional development effort of Miami-Dade County Public Schools, the University of Florida (UF), and the W.K. Kellogg Foundation aimed at improving early learning instruction for high-need preschool through grade 3 students in Miami-Dade County Public Schools. The initiative serves Title I elementary schools with prekindergarten programs through four main components: (1) a job-embedded graduate degree program with early childhood specialization (ECTLSI) offered through UF combining online instruction, face-to-face pedagogy, and professor-in-residence support over 2.5 years (39 credit hours); (2) a Teacher Fellows program where teachers engage in yearlong inquiry projects with peers, meeting formally about once a month over six sessions and presenting at an annual districtwide Learning Showcase; (3) a Principal Fellows program providing professional development meetings (4 per year) and annual statewide institutes to build leadership skills; and (4) Summer Leadership Institutes where school leadership teams analyze data and develop school action plans. Program enhancements added in later years include an Assistant Principal Professional Learning Community, a post-baccalaureate program (non-degree-bearing, four-course version of ECTLSI), and Transition to Kindergarten Professional Learning Communities. Teachers in the ECTLSI program receive training in facilitating professional learning communities and are expected to take on school-based leadership opportunities. The program requires GRE scores and 3.0 undergraduate GPA for graduate program admission, with preparation materials and test prep courses provided at no cost to candidates.

Preschool Prekindergarten Kindergarten 1st Grade 2nd Grade 3rd Grade

Boston Charter High Schools

2014

Boston Charter High Schools are public charter schools that follow the "No Excuses" pedagogy approach. This approach emphasizes discipline and comportment, traditional reading and math skills, extended instruction time, and selective teacher hiring. These schools make heavy use of Teach for America (TFA) participants and alumni and provide extensive and ongoing feedback to teachers. The schools serve high school students (grades 9-12) in Boston, with students admitted through a lottery system when schools are over-subscribed. The intervention targets urban students, with the sample being predominantly Black, mostly qualifying for free or reduced-price lunch, with representation of special education students similar to the traditional Boston Public Schools population.

9th Grade 10th Grade 11th Grade 12th Grade

Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network

2015

Schools to Watch: School Transformation Network is a whole school reform model designed to improve educational practices, experiences, and outcomes of persistently low-performing middle-grades schools (grades 6-8) serving high-need students. The project provides multiple supports including: tools and data for assessment, goal setting, action planning, and monitoring; technical assistance from a STW coach, principal mentor, and mentor STW school; networking opportunities at state and national levels; implementing an early warning indicators system; and focused professional development to build learning communities and address needs of at-risk students. The framework uses the Forum's STW criteria and rubric focusing on academic excellence, developmental responsiveness, social equity, and organizational structures. Implementation occurs over four years with intensive coaching services (2 days/month for 9 months annually), principal mentoring (monthly contacts), visits to mentor schools (at least twice yearly), and participation in state/national STW networks.

6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

Positive Action

2016

Positive Action is a school-based, universally delivered social and emotional learning (SEL) program grounded in theories of positive psychology, self-concept, and Self-esteem Enhancement Theory. The program uses classroom-based curriculum focusing on the importance of the desire to feel good about oneself and teaches students the necessary self-control and social skills for prosocial interactions with peers. The program was implemented in elementary schools serving predominantly low-income, urban youth from 3rd through 8th grade. Teachers delivered the curriculum to their students during regular classroom instruction.

3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

Achievement Network

2016

Achievement Network (ANet) is a school-level data-based instructional program for elementary and middle schools (Grades 3-8) serving high-need students. The program provides quarterly interim assessments in math and English language arts aligned to state content standards, data tools including online reports (MyANet platform) delivered within two business days, coaching of school leaders (approximately 20 visits per year for 2-3 years) to support teachers' use of assessment data, and a network of peer schools for sharing results and joint professional development. ANet coaches work with school leaders and data leadership teams to build capacity for implementing data cycles, including preparing for assessment administration, facilitating data meetings (typically 3-hour blocks after school), and supporting teachers in analyzing data and developing re-teaching plans. The program aims to embed interim assessment data use into educators' everyday routines to identify and close gaps in student achievement.

3rd Grade 4th Grade 5th Grade 6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

STEM Learning Opportunities Providing Equity (SLOPE)

2015

STEM Learning Opportunities Providing Equity (SLOPE) is an intervention designed to increase success in grade 8 Algebra I for all students, especially those with a history of low performance in mathematics. The intervention includes three project-based, STEM-oriented drop-in instructional units (Puzzle Cube, Air Traffic Control, and Catapult Game) integrated into the district-selected Algebra I curriculum, taking approximately 40 class periods total. An optional four-week summer program (Summer C.A.M.P.) is offered before grade 8 for students who had not reached proficient status on the grade 7 state mathematics test, consisting of three project-based Pre-Algebra units delivered half-day Monday-Friday. The intervention also includes college awareness curriculum activities (two 15-minute activities per Algebra I unit). Treatment teachers receive strategic professional development through four half-day online sessions and one full-day training, plus weekly online coaching and collaborative meetings (1-3 hours per week) to strengthen content understanding and implementation consistency.

7th Grade 8th Grade

Washington Striving Readers

2012

Washington Striving Readers is a differentiated reading intervention program for middle school students (grades 6-8) reading at least two years below grade level. The program takes two forms based on student needs: Group 1 students receive Phonics Blitz (50 lessons over 12 weeks focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, and fluency) followed by Read to Achieve (vocabulary and comprehension strategies for remainder of year); Group 2 students receive Read to Achieve only for the full school year. Classes are delivered face-to-face in small groups (up to 9 students for Group 1, up to 12 for Group 2) as a supplemental reading class in addition to regular English language arts. All classes are taught by certificated teachers hired specifically for Striving Readers who receive 70 hours of professional development including 4-day summer institute and 6 additional training days during the year, plus ongoing in-class coaching support with at least 12 visits from project coaches throughout the year.

6th Grade 7th Grade 8th Grade

Four Reading Interventions: Corrective Reading, Failure Free Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading

2006

This study evaluates four widely used remedial reading programs for struggling readers in grades 3 and 5: Corrective Reading, Failure Free Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading. The interventions were delivered as pull-out programs in small groups of three students, meeting five days per week for approximately 50-minute sessions from November 2003 through May 2004, totaling about 90 hours of instruction on average. Three interventions (Corrective Reading, Spell Read P.A.T., and Wilson Reading) focus primarily on word-level skills including phonemic awareness, phonemic decoding, and reading fluency through systematic and explicit instruction. Failure Free Reading focuses on building sight vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension through computer-based lessons, workbook exercises, and teacher-led instruction. Teachers were recruited from participating schools and received approximately 70 hours of professional development and support during the implementation year, including 30 hours of initial intensive training, 24 hours during a practice period, and 14 hours of supervision during the intervention phase.

3rd Grade 5th Grade