Broad Creek Middle School, Carteret, NC
The Real D.E.A.L. Schools
http://www.governor.state.nc.us/Office/Education/_pdf/RealDeal_Booklet.pdf
Broad Creek Middle School is one of eight schools honored by North Carolina Governor Mike Easley as a school that leads the state in both student achievement and teacher working conditions. Parental involvement and volunteers are an integral part of the school’s success. Volunteer programs include tutoring, mentoring and a partnership with a group of local marines.

Get Parents Involved: When Mom and Dad Come to Class, Kids Do Better
Seville, Michael. (2005). Edutopia.
http://www.edutopia.org/magazine/ed1article.php?id=art_1310&issue=jun_05
This article describes a program at Christa McAuliffe Elementary, a public school in Silicon Valley, which requires parents to become involved in the school as volunteers. Parents lead lessons based on their personal expertise, act as chaperones on field trips, or provide administrative or technological support after the school day. They also attend a training program that helps parents make active contributions to their children’s schooling.

Grandparents Helping in the Classroom
Christian Science Monitor, March 9, 2006
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0309/p08s02-comv.html?s=hns%20
In this editorial, the Christian Science Monitor reports the mutual benefits experienced by seniors and students when older Americans volunteer in the classroom. Since there will be a dramatic increase in the number of Americans over the age of 65 in the next 15 years, the potential impact of this group is great. The article reports on a recent study of volunteers from Experience Corp in Baltimore and discusses the cost effectiveness of such a program.

Community Partnership Resource Page
The George Lucas Educational Foundation. 
http://www.glef.org/php/keyword.php?id=189
This webpage provides a variety of resources from the George Lucas Educational Foundation (GLEF) on school and community partnerships.  It includes articles describing programs in specific school districts and research on the importance of community involvement in general.

10 Things Grandparents and Other Concerned Citizens Can Do to be More Involved
North Carolina Department of Public Instruction
http://www.ncpublicschools.org/involvement/10thingsgrandparent.html
The North Carolina Department of Public Instruction describes ten ways in which grandparents and other citizens without children in school can become more involved in education. Suggestions include volunteering in schools as a tutor or mentor, helping children to take advantage of educational resources in the community, and supporting social services that help all children.

What do we mean by “family and community connections with schools? 
Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL)  (2002, November). Research Brief.
http://www.sedl.org/connections/resources/rb/research-brief1.pdf
This short brief explains that there are many different forms of school-community involvement and emphasizes the need to clarify each group’s understanding of and expectations for such partnerships.  It includes a series of guiding questions to help schools, parents, and community groups decide which type of partnerships to pursue and provides additional references for related research.

What is a Partnership Program?
National Network for Partnership Schools. 
http://www.csos.jhu.edu/p2000/program2.htm
This page highlights six types of involvement for partnership programs, summarizing recommendations from the book Schools, Family, and Community Partnership: Your Handbook for Action (Epstein, 1997).  The six types of involvement are parenting, communicating, volunteering, learning at home, decision making, and collaborating with the community.  For each type, the website briefly lists sample practices, challenges and redefinitions, and results.

Target Time Toward Teachers
Darling-Hammond, Linda. (1999). Journal of Staff Development, 20, (2), p. 31-36.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/darling202.cfm
This article addresses the importance of teacher time for planning and collaboration to quality teaching. It compares teacher time in the U.S. to teacher time internationally and provides samples for rethinking schedules from International High School and Central Park East Secondary School in New York City.

Helping Every Student Succeed: Schools and Communities Working Together
Study Circles Resources Center (2002).
http://www.studycircles.org/en/Resource.14.aspx
This tool explains how study circles engage community members in school improvement efforts and provides the discussion materials necessary for a series of four study groups. Group discussions begin with consideration of what each participant considers a “good education” and progresses to deciding upon specific actions for change.

It’s about time
Wade, C.  (2001). Teaching Quality in the Southeast: Best Policies and Practices, 7.
http://www.teachingquality.org/BestTQ/issues/v01/issue07.pdf
In this brief, a Wake County Public School teacher outlines the demands placed on a teacher’s time during the typical school day and discusses the importance of providing teachers with time for professional collaboration and reflection.

 Mentoring: Recent Research Highlights
George Lucas Education Foundation. (1999).
http://www.glef.org/php/article.php?id=Art_464&key=228
The George Lucas Education Foundation summarizes recent research showing the benefits of mentoring for new and veteran teachers and discusses the possibility of “telementoring” in order to counter issues with time and distance.

Finding Time for Faculties to Study Together
Murphy, C. (Summer 1997) Journal of Staff Development v.18 n.3
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/murphy183.cfm
Carleen Murphy provides an extensive list of options used by different schools to create time for teachers to meet in “study groups.” Sample strategies include early release, late start, hiring substitutes, and involving parents or business partners in special activities.

Making Time for Adult Learning
Pardini, P. (Spring 1999) Journal of Staff Development
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/pardini202.cfm
This article highlights different methods used by eight schools across the country to create time for teacher collaboration. Strategies include early release, involving students in community service projects, allowing paraprofessionals to cover classes for a limited period of time, and reassessing how faculty meeting time is currently used. The author provides contact information for each of the profiled schools.

Target Time Toward Teachers
Darling-Hammond, Linda. (1999). Journal of Staff Development, 20, (2), p. 31-36.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/darling202.cfm
This article addresses the importance of teacher time for planning and collaboration to quality teaching.  The author encourages schools to create time for teachers to work in teams that serve a common group of students and provides samples for rethinking schedules from International High School and Central Park East Secondary School in New York City.

Rethinking School Resources
Hawley Miles, Karen. District Issues Brief. New American Schools.
http://www.naschools.org/uploadedfiles/rethinking-resources.pdf
Based on her experiences with New American Schools, Karen Hawley Miles writes that schools need more resources to provide common time for teachers to work and learn together. She insists that teachers need time periods longer than 45 minutes to accomplish this work and suggests five ways that schools could create that time. Additionally, she provides recommendations of what districts can do to help schools create time and reports on the tradeoffs or challenges that accompany each strategy.

Think Outside the Clock: Create Time for Professional Learning
Richardson, Joan. (2002). National Staff Development Council.
http://www.nsdc.org/members/tools/tools08-02.pdf
This article suggests strategies for creating time for professional development and describes a variety of approaches taken by specific schools and districts.  The author suggests “banking” time by lengthening the school day, “buying” time by hiring more teachers or substitute teachers, creating common planning time, and adding professional days to the school year.  She also lists ways to free teachers from instruction occasionally so that they can meet in disciplinary or interdisciplinary teams . 

Plan Thoughtfully for Team Time
Hirsch, Stephanie. (2002). Results. National Staff Development Council. 
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/results/res11-02hirs.cfm
The author argues that the key issue with encouraging professional learning is not finding the time but finding a way to use the time well.  She recommends establishing expectations for team learning, specifying the content for learning team time, and teaching processes that encourage smooth meetings.

"Finding the Time to Build Professional Development into the Life of Schools”
Teachers Take Charge of Their Learning: Transforming Professional Development for Student Success.
NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE). (1996).
http://www.nfie.org/publications/charge/section2.htm
NFIE gives two primary recommendations for finding time for professional development: flexible scheduling and an extended school year for teachers. They recommend team teaching as a way to create greater freedom with scheduling and ample opportunity for mentoring relationships.

Time: It’s Made, Not Found
Barkley, S. (Fall 1999) Journal of Staff Development
http://wilsontxt.hwwilson.com/pdffull/02131/1PVLJ/BS0.pdf
Barkley offers a variety of ideas for creating time for planning and collaboration, including restructuring the staff, using technology, and team teaching. He also describes one way in which schools can make 15 hours of time available for the faculty to consider more permanent methods to create out-of-class time for teachers.

Teacher Teaming in Relation to Student Performance: Findings from the Literature
Spraker, Jean. (2003). Center for District and School Improvement. 
http://www.nwrel.org/re-eng/products/TeacherTeaming.pdf
This report investigates the extent to which team teaching improves student achievement and the major factors of team teaching associated with effective learning.  The author describes types of teacher teams and lists pertinent literature according to each type.  She also includes an extensive, annotated list of resources. 

Reinventing High School: The Coalition Campus Schools Project
Darling-Hammond, L., Ancess, J., and S. Wichterle Ort. (2002) American Educational Research Journal 39. 3. 639-673.
http://www.schoolredesign.net/srn/binary/Reinventing%20
HighSchool%20-%20LDH%20et%20al.pdf
The authors document the efforts of the Coalition Campus Schools Project to create smaller, more communal schools in response to the failures of comprehensive high schools.  The project replaced two large comprehensive schools with 11 small schools.  This article focuses on the reform project at Julia Richman High School in New York City; it highlights school designs, successes, challenges, and issues for district restructuring. These schools offer smaller class sizes, at least a two-hour block of collaborative planning time weekly, and more opportunities for teachers to work individually with students.

Target Time Toward Teachers
Darling-Hammond, Linda. (1999). Journal of Staff Development, 20, (2), p. 31-36.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/darling202.cfm
The article addresses the need to reorganize teachers’ time to allow for planning, collaboration and provides samples for rethinking schedules from International High School and Central Park East Secondary School in New York City.  At International High School students have 70 minute class periods, and teachers on interdisciplinary teams share 70 minutes of planning time daily.

Gustav A. Fritsche Middle School, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
http://www2.milwaukee.k12.wi.us/fritsche/block1.html
This school’s website provides detailed information on their use of block scheduling. It lists observed benefits in terms of school climate, classroom issues, and curriculum, and provides a comparison of time on task under the block schedule and under a traditional schedule. The site also includes a detailed profile of the school’s demographics and a four-year timeline that outlines the process of fully implementing block scheduling at the school. Scheduling grids for each grade during the 2004-2005 school year are also available.

Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
Fager, Jennifer. (1997). Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
http://www.nwrel.org/request/feb97/index.html
This is an online version of a booklet exploring block scheduling, four-day school weeks and year-round school.  For each of the three areas, the authors explain the potential benefits of that system, some concerns, and ideas for successful implementation.  The booklet includes specific examples of schools that have moved to block scheduling, a four year school week, or year round school.  Each example lists contact information, program information, observed outcomes, and keys to success.

Using Time Well: Schedules in Essential Schools
Kushman, Kathleen. (1995). Horace 12. 2.
http://www.essentialschools.org/cs/resources/view/ces_res/15
The author discusses the rationale for block scheduling and what is necessary for its implementation.  She emphasizes that without common teacher time and good professional development, long blocks of class time will not produce greater student achievement.  The report includes sample schedules from schools using a variety of approaches. 

Rethinking the Allocation of Teaching Resources: Some Lessons from High-Performing Schools 
Hawley Miles, Karen and Linda Darling-Hammond. (1998) Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 20.1 p. 9-29.
http://www.cpre.org/Publications/rr38.pdf
The study looks at five high-performing schools that have redesigned the way they allocate teaching resources.  The article gives concrete ways to reorganize teacher time and identifies six principles of resource allocation among the five schools. Suggestions include combining lunch periods with common planning time. For example, Lyons School gave teachers a common lunch period followed by one hour and 15 minutes of common planning time.

Treating teachers as professionals. 
Curtis, D.  (2000). Edutopia Online.
http://glef.org/php/article.php?id=Art_412&key=238
This article highlights Sherman Oaks Community Charter School, where teachers participate in daily conversations for 90 minutes while students have lunch, a study hall, and a recreation period supervised by community volunteers. Conversations focus on professional development, instructional methods, curriculum, and problem-solving for specific classroom situations.

Rethinking School Resources
Hawley Miles, Karen. District Issues Brief. New American Schools.
http://www.naschools.org/uploadedfiles/rethinking-resources.pdf
Based on her experiences with New American Schools, Karen Hawley Miles writes that schools need more resources to provide common time for teachers to work and learn together. She insists that teachers need time periods longer than 45 minutes to accomplish this work and suggests five ways that schools could create that time. Additionally, she provides recommendations of what districts can do to help schools create time and reports on the tradeoffs or challenges that accompany each strategy.

Think Outside the Clock: Create Time for Professional Learning. 
Richardson, Joan. (2002). National Staff Development Council.
http://www.nsdc.org/members/tools/tools08-02.pdf
This article suggests strategies for creating time for professional development and describes a variety of approaches already taken by specific schools and districts.  The author suggests “banking” time by lengthening the school day, “buying” time by hiring more teachers or substitute teachers, creating common planning time, and adding professional days to the school year.

Trying to Beat the Clock: Uses of Teacher Professional Time in Three Countries
Adelman, Nancy. (1998). U.S. Department of Education.
http://www.enc.org/professional/learn/change/practice/world/document.shtm
?input=ACQ-137042-7042
This report compares the school structures and use of time in the United States, Japan, and Germany.  The study found that in both Japanese schools and innovative American schools, teachers have long blocks of planning time, either after the school day or in conjunction with the lunch period.  The study generally looks at teacher time with and without students, on-the-clock professional time, and off-the-clock time.

Finding Time for Faculties to Study Together
Murphy, C. (Summer 1997) Journal of Staff Development v.18 n.3
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/murphy183.cfm
Carleen Murphy provides an extensive list of options used by different schools to create time for teachers to meet in “study groups.” Sample strategies include early release, late start, hiring substitutes, and involving parents or business partners in special activities.

Making Time for Adult Learning
Pardini, P. (Spring 1999) Journal of Staff Development
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/pardini202.cfm
This article highlights different methods used by eight schools across the country to create time for teacher collaboration. Strategies include early release, involving students in community service projects, allowing paraprofessionals to cover classes for a limited period of time, and reassessing how faculty meeting time is currently used. The author provides contact information for each of the profiled schools.

Think Outside the Clock: Create Time for Professional Learning. 
Richardson, Joan. (2002). National Staff Development Council.
http://www.nsdc.org/members/tools/tools08-02.pdf
This article suggests strategies for creating time for professional development and describes a variety of approaches already taken by specific schools and districts.  Under “Schools that have Found Time,” the author describes how Madison Park School in Phoenix, AZ, uses two full-time substitutes to provide release time so that teachers can collaborate, do  professional development, or work with master teachers.

Winning the Substitute Game
District Administration. (2004).
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=807
This article provides strategies for attracting and retaining quality substitutes.  The authors concentrate on the challenges and concerns of substitute teachers themselves.

How Can Schools Make Time for Teacher Learning?  
Sparks, Dennis. (1999) Results.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/results/res3-99learning.cfm
This brief article summarizes approaches to creating time for teacher learning and collaboration, which the National Staff Development Council believes should constitute at least one-quarter of a teacher's work time.  Recommended approaches include using substitutes to free teachers, using faculty meetings for teacher learning, and lengthening the school day four days a week with early release on the fifth. 

Finding Time for Faculties to Study Together
Murphy, C. (Summer 1997) Journal of Staff Development v.18 n.3
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/murphy183.cfm
Carleen Murphy provides an extensive list of options used by different schools to create time for teachers to meet in “study groups.” Sample strategies include early release, late start, hiring substitutes, and involving parents or business partners in special activities.

How Boston Pilot Schools Use Freedom over Budget, Staffing, and Scheduling To Meet Student Needs. 
October 2001. Center for Collaborative Education.
http://www.ccebos.org/pilot_resource_study_011015.pdf
This article includes a case study of the Harbor School, which adopted a new schedule with the primary goals of providing common time for teachers to collaborate and intensive time for students in core academic instruction.  They achieved their goal in large part by hiring specialists to create more teacher time.

Rethinking School Resources
Hawley Miles, Karen. District Issues Brief. New American Schools.
http://www.naschools.org/uploadedfiles/rethinking-resources.pdf
Based on her experiences with New American Schools, Karen Hawley Miles writes that schools need more resources to provide common time for teachers to work and learn together. She insists that teachers need time periods longer than 45 minutes to accomplish this work and suggests five ways that schools could create that time. Additionally, she provides recommendations of what districts can do to help schools create time and reports on the tradeoffs or challenges that accompany each strategy.

Creating a Teacher Mentoring Program
The NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education.  (1999, February). 
http://www.nfie.org/publications/mentoring.htm
The authors of this paper emphasize the importance of frequent meetings for mentoring programs to be effective and the difficulty of determining whether teachers should mentor full-time or balance teaching and mentoring.  They also describe a program in Anchorage, AK, in which retired teachers help either as mentors or as substitutes for full-time teachers when they meet with their mentees.

Finding Time for Faculties to Study Together
Murphy, C. (Summer 1997) Journal of Staff Development v.18 n.3
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/murphy183.cfm
Carleen Murphy provides an extensive list of options used by different schools to create time for teachers to meet in “study groups.” Sample strategies include early release, late start, hiring substitutes, and involving parents or business partners in special activities.

How Boston Pilot Schools Use Freedom over Budget, Staffing, and Scheduling To Meet Student Needs. 
October 2001. Center for Collaborative Education.
http://www.ccebos.org/pilot_resource_study_011015.pdf
This article includes a case study of the Harbor School, which adopted a new schedule with the primary goals of providing common time for teachers to collaborate and intensive time for students in core academic instruction.  They achieved their goal in large part by hiring specialists to create more teacher time.

Making Time for Adult Learning
Pardini, P. (Spring 1999) Journal of Staff Development
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/pardini202.cfm
This article highlights different methods used by eight schools across the country to create time for teacher collaboration. Strategies include early release, involving students in community service projects, allowing paraprofessionals to cover classes for a limited period of time, and reassessing how faculty meeting time is currently used. The author provides contact information for each of the profiled schools.

Think Outside the Clock: Create Time for Professional Learning. 
Richardson, Joan. (2002). National Staff Development Council.
http://www.nsdc.org/members/tools/tools08-02.pdf
This article suggests strategies for creating time for professional development and describes a variety of approaches already taken by specific schools and districts.  Under “Schools that have Found Time,” the author describes how Madison Park School in Phoenix, AZ, uses two full-time substitutes to provide release time so that teachers can collaborate, do  professional development on their own, or work with master teachers.

Winning the Substitute Game
District Administration. (2004).
http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=807
This article provides strategies for attracting and retaining quality substitutes.  The authors concentrate on the challenges and concerns of substitute teachers themselves.

Rethinking the Allocation of Teaching Resources: Some Lessons from High-Performing Schools
Hawley Miles, Karen and Linda Darling-Hammond. (1998). Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis 20.1 p. 9-29.
http://www.cpre.org/Publications/rr38.pdf
The study looks at five high-performing schools that have redesigned the way they allocate teaching resources.  The article gives concrete ways to reorganize teacher time and identifies six principles of resource allocation among the five schools. Suggestions include reintegrating pull-out programs like gifted or bilingual education into “regular education” settings; creating longer periods of time for teacher planning; assigning students to class groups based on educational strategies rather than standard classifications; and hiring a larger number of part-time specialist teachers to cover longer periods of common planning time.

Target Time Toward Teachers
Darling-Hammond, Linda. (1999). Journal of Staff Development, 20, (2), p. 31-36.
http://www.nsdc.org/library/publications/jsd/darling202.cfm
The article addresses the importance of teacher time for planning and collaboration to quality teaching.  The author recommends staffing schools with more positions for actual classroom teaching rather than creating staffing patterns with more supplementary staff roles.  In many other industrialized countries, teachers spend a greater proportion of their time collaborating, planning and pursuing professional development.  They are able to do so, in part, because these school systems hire more teachers and fewer supplementary staff members.

 “Finding the Time to Build Professional Development into the Life of Schools,” 
Teachers Take Charge of Their Learning: Transforming Professional Development for Student Success.
NEA Foundation for the Improvement of Education (NFIE). (1996). Washington, DC.
http://www.nfie.org/publications/charge/section2.htm
NFIE gives two primary recommendations for finding time for professional development: flexible scheduling and an extended school year for teachers. In order to create more team teaching opportunities, shared responsibilities, and fewer, longer periods of instruction, states need to deregulate instructional time mandates.  

Rethinking School Resources
Hawley Miles, Karen. District Issues Brief. New American Schools.
http://www.naschools.org/uploadedfiles/rethinking-resources.pdf
Based on her experiences with New American Schools, Karen Hawley Miles writes that schools need more resources to provide common time for teachers to work and learn together. She insists that teachers need time periods longer than 45 minutes to accomplish this work and suggests five ways that schools could create that time. Additionally, she provides recommendations of what districts can do to help schools create time and reports on the tradeoffs or challenges that accompany each strategy.

Learning from Denmark.
International Studies Program. (2004).
http://ncforum.org/doclib/publications/collateral/denmark.pdf
This report explains the findings of a study of high schools in Denmark.  Within finding nine, “Teachers Are Treated as Professionals,” the authors address teacher time for preparation, meetings, and collaboration and explain how the workload differs for new teachers.  The report includes tables of annual work loads for Danish high school teachers. Danish teachers can come and go as they please (flex time), have less time with students than American teachers, and new teachers do not have a full teaching load for two years.

data analysis | time | leadership | empowerment | prof development | facilities & resource