Effective partnering for school change : improving early childhood education in urban classrooms / Jie-Qi Chen, Patricia Horsch, with Karen DeMoss and Suzanne L. Wagner ; foreword by Barbara T. Bowman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Chen, Jie-Qi.

Contributor:

Horsch, Patricia.

Series:

Early childhood education series (Teachers College Press)

Early childhood education series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Early childhood education--Illinois--Chicago.

Early childhood education.

Education, Urban--Illinois--Chicago.

Education, Urban.

School improvement programs--Illinois--Chicago.

School improvement programs.

Illinois--Chicago.

Physical Description:

xv, 173 pages : illustrations ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

New York : Teachers College Press, [2004]

Summary:

This volume explores the challenges and promise of university-school partnerships as a vehicle for improving our public schools. Reporting on the experience of Erikson Institute's Schools Project -- an II-year initiative involving nine public elementary schools in low-income Chicago neighborhoods -- the authors describe a variety of school-based interventions and provide valuable lessons for building effective university-school partnerships.

Contents:

Part I. The Historical Context and Conceptual Framework

1. "The Worst School System in America": School Reform in Chicago and the Roots of the Schools Project 3

The Chicago Public Schools in Crisis 3

National Reform Movements 5

The Evolution of the Schools Project 6

Profiles of the Partner Schools 9

2. The Enabling Approach: A Framework for Responsive Partnering 18

Building Trusting, Respectful Relationships 19

Helping Teachers Identify Their Needs and Interests 22

Formulating Individual Goals Through a Process of Mutual Decisionmaking 24

Developing Plans for Technical Assistance and Follow-up Support 26

Part II. A Tapestry of Interventions

3. Curriculum and Instruction: Opening the Door to Developmentally Appropriate Practice 31

Starting Out: Pre-Kindergarten and Kindergarten Classrooms 33

Moving Up: The Primary Grades 37

Continuing Challenges to DAP 42

4. Standardized Tests: Turning Students' Scores into a Tool for Improving Skills 43

Making Connections Between Test Scores and Classroom Practices 45

Engaging Teachers and Administrators 48

Developing a Reading Intervention 50

The Components of the Intervention 52

Getting Off Probation 54

The Reality of High-Stakes Testing 58

5. The NAEYC Accreditation Process: Building a Strong Foundation for Teaching and Learning 60

The Value of NAEYC Accreditation 61

The NAEYC Accreditation Process in the Partner Schools 62

How the NAEYC Accreditation Process Changed Partner Schools 68

6. The Responsive Classroom Approach: A Caring, Respectful School Environment as a Context for Development 75

Finding the Right Tools to Support Students' Social-Emotional Development 76

Creating a Caring, Respectful Community: Four Case Histories 79

Students, Teachers, Schools: The Effects of the Responsive Classroom Approach 88

7. Brave New World: Computers in the Classroom 93

Key Features of Teacher Training in Technology 96

Building Site-Based Technology Leadership and Expertise 99

The Diverse Roles of Technology Coordinators 103

Part III. Lessons From More Than a Decade of Partnership

8. The Teachers' Perspective: Findings from the Schools Project Evaluation 111

The Enabling Approach: In Teachers' Eyes, a Model for Partnering 113

What to Do Next Time: Give Teachers Even More 115

Administration's Role in Whole-School Change 116

The Confluence of Ideological and Racial Differences 118

Individual Teacher Change: It Happened, It Lasted, and It's Important 121

9. Responsive Partnering in Context: The Factors That Shape University-School Partnerships (with Ruanda Garth McCullough) 123

School System Supports and Pressures 126

The School Environment and Culture 128

Teacher Individuality and Diversity 131

The Resources and Limits of the University 134

Relationship: The Key to University

School Partnerships 137.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 153-160) and index.

ISBN:

080774414X

0807744131

OCLC:

52773583