Read the latest research behind the learning module: Personalizing The School Experience.
- Benigini, Mark & Petrosky, Sheryll. (2011). Mentoring Matters: A Toolkit for Organizing and Operating Student Advisory Programs. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. As schools are trying to connect with their students and assure that every student has an adult mentor in the building, the need for school-based mentoring programs could not be greater. When creating the school district’s mentoring programs, the authors could not find age-appropriate, current, user-friendly mentoring lessons. With limited financial and human resources, schools are searching for a practical, innovative and trial-tested resource. This book is it. Mentoring Matters is the action plan with all the resources necessary to launch a school-based mentoring program. The 45 30-minute lessons will serve as the foundation of the mentoring program. From Facebook to bullying to teenage stressors, this book covers it all. The authors live it everyday. They have eliminated all the hurdles and obstacles and created a handbook for mentoring success.Visit the Rowman website to purchase Mentoring Matters
- Cushman, Kathleen. (2003). Fires in the Bathroom: Advice for Teachers from High School Students. New York, NY: The New Press. This book offers original insights into teaching teenagers in today’s hard-pressed urban high schools from the point of view of the students themselves. It speaks to both new and established teachers, giving them firsthand information about who their students are and what they need to succeed. Students from across the country contributed perceptive and pragmatic answers to questions of how teachers can transcend the barriers of adolescent identity and culture to reach the diverse student body in today’s urban schools. With the fresh and often surprising perspectives of youth, they tackle tough issues such as increasing engagement and motivation, teaching difficult academic material, reaching English language learners and creating a classroom culture where respect and success go hand in hand.Visit the NASSP website store to purchase Fires in the Bathroom
- Cushman, Kathleen. (2005). Sent to the Principal: Students Talk About Making High Schools Better. Next Generation Press. Whether talking about dress codes, detention policies or school security, teenagers want to help make school a place they care about. Leaders of the nation’s 300,000 high schools will be listening to their strategies for changing school culture so that students will invest in their own success.Visit the NASSP website store to purchase Sent to the Principal
- Cushman, Kathleen & Rogers, Laura. (2009). Fires in the Middle School Bathroom. New York, NY: Providence, RI: The New Press. As teachers, counselors and parents cope with the roller coaster of early adolescence, too few stop to ask students what they think about these critical years. Here, middle school students in grades 5 through 8 across the country and from diverse ethnic backgrounds offer insights on what it takes to make classrooms more effective and how to forge stronger relationships between young adolescents and adults. Students tackle such critical topics as social, emotional and academic pressures; classroom behavior; organization; and preparing for high school. Cushman and Rogers help readers hear and understand the vital messages about adolescent learning that come through in what these students say.Visit the NASSP website store to purchase Fires in the Middle School Bathroom
- Dedmond, Rebecca & LaFauci, Jean M. (July 2006). Freshman Transition Programs: Long-Term and Comprehensive. Principal’s Research Review. v1 n4. (NASSP member only resource)Download the article: Freshman Transition Programs
- Desrochers, John E.; Cowan, Katherine C. & Christner, Ray W. (April 2009). These Tough Economic Times. Principal Leadership, v9 n8 p10–14. The financial crisis has had an unexpected effect on schools, but proactive approaches can help schools improve students’ and staff members’ coping skills while maintaining academic progress. (NASSP member only resource)Download the article: These Tough Economic Times
- Glasgow, Neal A. & Whitney, Paula Jameson. (2009). What Successful Schools Do to Involve Families. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin. This resource offers 55 research-based strategies to help educators bridge the gap between school and home by forming effective partnerships with every type of family group.Visit the Corwin website to purchase What Successful Schools Do to Involve Families
- Hertzog, C. Jay & Morgan, P. Lena. (1999). Transition: A Process, Not an Event. Reston, VA: NASSP. The entire staff at the feeder middle schools and the high school — as well as the students and parents — should be involved in establishing an effective transition program. This monograph helps principals work with their schools, students and communities to emphasize the importance of the transition. (NASSP member only resource)Visit the NASSP website store to purchase Transition: A Process, Not an Event
- Keefe, James W. & Jenkins, John M. (2008). Personalized Instruction: The Key to Student Achievement, Second Edition. Lanham, MD: Rowman and Littlefield. Personalization of learning and instruction is the most critical issue facing contemporary education — not state testing or vouchers or even aging schools. Personalization is an attempt on the part of a school to take into account individual student characteristics and needs and flexible instructional practices in organizing the learning environment. This book presents the conceptual rationale for personalizing instruction, provides 20 working strategies to assist schools in redesigning themselves for personalization, and cites specific examples of personalization in the subject disciplines and in selected schools. This second edition expands the discussion on personalization; updates the sections on instructional strategies, assessment and grade reporting; and cites new developments in the disciplines and in the schools.Visit the Rowman website to purchase Personalized Instruction
- Montgomery, Glade T. & Hirth, Marilyn A. (December 2011). Freshman Transition for At-Risk Students: Living with HEART. NASSP Bulletin, v95 n4 p245–265. This mixed methods study examines the impact of a freshmen transition program for at-risk students at a large urban high school. The overall experiences of the participants affirmed that transition programs for at-risk students must provide a sense of belonging, teachers must be able to build strong relationships with students, and life-skills should be an essential component. This study has implications for schools who are presently implementing a freshmen transition program, or for school districts investigating the possibility of adopting such a curriculum. (NASSP member only resource)Download the article: Freshman Transition for At-Risk Students
- Oxley, Diane; Barton, Rhonda & Klump, Jennifer. (November 2006). Creating Small Learning Communities. Principal’s Research Review. v1 n6. (NASSP member only resource)Download the article: Creating Small Learning Communities
- Poliner, Rachel A. & Lieber, Carol Miller. (2004). The Advisory Guide: Designing and Implementing Effective Advisory Programs in Secondary Schools. Cambridge, MA: Educators for Social Responsibility. This comprehensive guide helps secondary school educators design and implement an advisory program tailored to their school’s needs and goals — whether in large, small, independent or charter schools. The design chapters present snapshots of various advisory models and help planning teams think through nine major issues that should be addressed in order for the program and faculty advisors to get off to a good start.Visit the ESR website to purchase The Advisory Guide
- Protheroe, Nancy. (September 2012). Social and Emotional Factors in Student Learning. Principal’s Research Review. v7 n5. (NASSP member only resource)Download the article: Social and Emotional Factors in Student Learning
- Conley, David T. (December 2010). Eligible and ready for college. Principal Leadership, v11 n4 p18-22.
Taking all the right courses may get students into college, but being ready is much more complex. (NASSP member only resource)Download the article: Eligible and ready for college. - Cowan Pitre, Charisse & Pitre, Paul. (2009). Increasing underrepresented high school students’ college transitions and achievements: TRIO educational opportunity programs. NASSP Bulletin, v93 n2 p96-110.
The American education agenda suggests a clear commitment to the development of programs and practices to increase equitable participation in higher education. During a time when equity-based policy initiatives are under attack in the United States, governmental TRIO Programs remain one proven pathway for ensuring college preparedness and access for all students. Research reviewed in this article suggests TRIO educational opportunity programs have been successful in increasing both the higher education attendance rates and educational attainment of students from low-income, first-generation college, and underrepresented ethnic minority backgrounds. Given the increasing political debate and the recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling against voluntary school desegregation, TRIO Programs are now more critical than ever for extending higher educational opportunities to students from diverse social and economic backgrounds. Furthermore, these programs may provide a model for P-12 school leaders, individual institutions, and all education professionals interested in widening access to higher education for all of our country’s citizens. This article provides an overview of TRIO educational opportunity programs, research related to the effectiveness of these programs, and recommendations for principals, teachers, and professional staff. (NASSP member only resource)Download the article: Increasing Underrepresented High School Students’ College Transitions and Achievements