Supporting School Improvement: Lessons from Districts Successfully Meeting the Challenge

This ERS report, which spotlights research on successful school districts, provides districts with a road map to reach their destination of improved student achievement. Supporting School Improvement: Lessons from Districts Successfully Meeting the Challenge, presents the findings of four studies highlighting school districts—most high poverty and at risk—that have achieved academic progress. As the authors attest, "school districts can have a profound and positive impact on school improvement efforts." For improvement efforts to work, district-level leadership and support are critical, according to the report. The four studies focus on the key characteristics of successful district-level programs. The districts profiled in the report prove student success is indeed an achievable goal. In the wake of NCLB, this is a much-needed piece of good news for many districts that may be found to be "low-performing."