M. Christine DeVita, President of The Wallace Foundation insists, "The bottom line is that investments in good principals are a particularly cost-effective way to improve teaching and learning."

Partnering with schools and districts to improve their leadership has always been a part of JP's work.  From our intensive Institute for Excellence in Education to our partnership with East St. Louis Public Schools as part of one of only 14 federally funded School Leadership Grants, we've been helping our partners develop strong leadership for lasting change since the very beginning.

Read more about JP's involvement in the Leadership Innovation for Today (LIFT project) in this week's newsletter.  For information about the 2011 Institute for Excellence in Education, click here.

We'd like to hear your thoughts on this topic!  Have you had the opportunity to work with a highly effective school or district leader? An ineffective leader?  Send your stories to rsn@jponline.com or post them in the Leadership forum in the Responsive School Network™. 

Click here to read the original article.

eBooks and Achievement Gaps (continued)
 

With more and more traditional, bound books going digital, educators are wondering whether technology will make achievement gaps even wider, or if electronic books will act as a bridge for students traditionally hindered by circumstances beyond their control.

The study, analyzing data from 27 countries over 20 years found:

• Having a 500-book library at home has as great an effect as having university-educated parents.
• In the U.S., having books in the home pushes students an average of 2.4 years further in school. Worldwide, the average is 3.2 years.
• Having books in the home outweighed the education level of the parents, the father's occupation, and the country's GDP or political system. Even having as few as 20 books in the home had a significant impact.

The implications are clear - the more access students have to literature in any format, the better their opportunities will be later in life.  Electronic books, which are cheaper to produce, catalog, access and maintain may provide this opportunity to more students in the coming years.

 

The costs of electronic readers are far less than laptops and are likely to continue to drop as they become more prevalent in the market. Stunningly, many classic books are available electronically free of charge, which allows school districts to make more academic content available while managing shrinking budgets..
 

click here for the original article

 

 

To read more about this topic and to view the original article, click here, then join the discussion in the RSN Forums!  

 

Federal School Leadership Grant Awarded to JP Associates and the East St. Louis School District

JP Associates is proud to welcome the East St. LouisSchool District to the Responsive School Network™ as our newest partner district!

Partnering with GrantsQuest, a nationally-recognized consulting and grant writing organization, JP and the East St. Louis School District (ESTLPS) were one of 14 grantees (and one of only 6 public school district grantees) in the highly competitive School Leadership Grant program initiated by Secretary Arne Duncan in 2010.  The project, Leadership Innovation For Today ("LIFT"), will continue for 5 years.

Following the awards, Secretary Duncan stated, "An effective principal serves as the catalyst for significant school improvement, these grants will help school leaders hone the wide range of skills needed to be a strong principal who can inspire teachers and have a positive impact on instructional practices that lead to improved learning outcomes."

Utilizing key elements of JP's Responsive Professional Development Model, JP and ESTLPS are building capacity and results by establishing customized systems for the assessment and hiring of new principals, reducing turnover, and developing leadership skills that will dramatically increase school effectiveness.

Accessing a national network of experts and members of the worldwide Responsive School Network™,  JP developed an impactful leadership training program, recruited a leadership coaching team composed of experienced School Improvement Specialists, representatives from higher education, and JP's management team.   

The Haberman Educational Foundation is providing training in the area of teacher and principal selection, while the coaching team comprised of JP School Improvement Specialists, Sandy Leonard and Omar Tabb, Longwood
 University professor Chris Jones and JP Vice President Doug Blancero.

East St. Louis administrators will participate in three intensive and customized Leadership Academies each year of the project and hone their skills through regular Responsive Coaching™ visits to ensure that ESTLPS leaders receive the support they need to maintain high levels of performance and application. 

Janie Feinberg, President of JP Associates stated, "Effective leadership is an essential element of creating and sustaining successful schools. JP is excited at this opportunity to partner with East St. Louis."

Following the initial training event, one East St. Louis principal exclaimed, "Training was great. The dialogue was healthy and stimulating. The best for administrators!"

Another principal indicated that the best feature was "developing strategies that best fit our own school."

JP and our LIFT partners are looking forward to demonstrating the incredible impact that customized and intensive Responsive Professional Development™ will have on the leadership of ESTLPS and other partners.

For more information about the LIFT project or how the Responsive Professional Development Model™ can impact the leadership in your district or school, e-mail Robert Harris, JP's Executive Director of Programming or call our office of Programming and School Improvement Planning at 888-570-8833.