Publications

Publication November 2023 | 18 pages
report cover image

The Skills Employers Demand
An Analysis of the Research

This report reviews the research on non-technical skills to identify the success skills employers most often seek. It summarizes relevant studies, skills gaps and credentialing to help policymakers, educators and businesses align efforts to prepare students for the workplace.

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Publication March 202214 pages22V04w

How a Network of Jefferson County Schools Partnered to Accelerate Sustainable Change

In this case study, learn how SREB partnered with 12 schools in Jefferson County, Alabama, to form networked improvement communities focused on promoting meaningful, sustainable change. Their goal was simple yet bold: Harness improvement science and continuous improvement strategies to accelerate eighth- and ninth-grade math achievement for Black, Latinx and low-income students.

Three years and one pandemic later, SREB and Jefferson County educators reflected on the successes, challenges and lessons learned from their efforts.

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Publication July 202122 pages21V06w

Developing Effective Interdisciplinary Focus Teams
Focus Teams Guide

School leaders who have used the Making Schools Work design to improve student achievement credit the use of teacher-led focus teams that involve teachers and school and district leaders in working together to ensure that key school and classroom practices form the foundation for school improvement.

This guide offers an overview of SREB’s approach to using focus teams to drive and sustain successful school improvement efforts, along with helpful tools for structuring and facilitating focus team meetings.

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Publication June 20212 pages

About Our Problem-Solving Process

As schools, districts and states plan to use a massive infusion of recovery funds, SREB’s research-based, classroom-tested problem-solving process can help you ensure your efforts to improve student engagement and achievement have a lasting impact.

In this brochure, learn how you can harness the power of our problem-solving process to sustain lasting capacity for change and meet bold goals for student achievement.

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Publication March 202036 pages20V08

Inequity in Education: Identifying Variations in Students’ School and Classroom Experiences
Research Report

This research report presents the results of a study designed by SREB’s Research and Accountability team to identify and unpack sources of inequity in K-12 public education. The study examined results from student surveys administered in 2018 to over 7,800 students in 15 states across the United States. Grounded in SREB’s research-based Key Practices for quality education, student surveys probe whether schools may be setting a low bar for achievement or allowing biased thinking about students’ academic ability to affect their school climate.

Publication September 2019 | 20 pages
Shared-Time Technology Centers: A Study of Six State Funding Systems. Special Report for the Kentucky Career and Technical Education Task Force Southern Regional Education Board.  SREB.org. September 2019

Shared-Time Technology Centers
A Study of Six State Funding Systems

Students need learning experiences connected with the world of work to equip them to enter the workforce and secure good jobs. This report provides an overview of funding for career and technical education and a detailed look at CTE funding models in Arkansas, Indiana, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina and West Virginia. Produced by SREB for the Kentucky Career and Technical Education Task Force, it also offers considerations for actions to improve CTE.

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Publication Dale Winkler March 20197 pagesTechniques Magazine

Increasing Access & Equity: A Whole School Approach

In this article that appeared in the March 2019 edition of ACTE’s Techniques magazine, SREB’s Dale Winkler and Scott Warren address how SREB’s school improvement frameworks provide a structure that empowers schools to make the changes needed to expand or improve access to high-quality programs and ensure that all students — regardless of their gender, race, socioeconomic background, ability level or location — discover a purpose for learning and life.

This article is reproduced with the kind permission of ACTE.

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Publication March 2018 80 pages (18V04)
Report cover: Making Math Matter

Making Math Matter
High-Quality Assignments That Help Students Solve Problems and Own Their Learning

This report presents results of teacher and student surveys on how powerful Mathematics Design Collaborative practices are shifting how teachers teach. It also summarizes student achievement data from schools using the strategies in four states. In vignettes and testimonials, teachers who completed SREB professional development on MDC share how they have grown as teachers and how their students’ understanding of math concepts has improved.

Publication Feb. 201818 pages18V03

Engaging Students in Deeper Learning Through Powerful Literacy and Mathematics Assignments

Too many students graduate high school without the foundational literacy and math skills needed to succeed in postsecondary education and careers. This can change if students are exposed to literacy and math practices that expose them to the types of grade-level assignments that will advance their achievement and prepare them for college and careers.

SREB offers professional development to teachers in powerful literacy and math practices that produce positive results. Read about survey results of more than 37,000 students.

Publication Gene Bottoms October 201712 pages(17V18)
This image is the cover of the Valuing Both Cs in College- and Career-Readiness Accountability Systems publication.

Valuing Both Cs in College- and Career-Readiness Accountability Systems
How states can use career pathways to close credential attainment and skills gaps.

This publication explores how state accountability systems currently address college readiness and academic and technical career readiness and offers recommendations and examples of policies and practices that incentivize and reward districts and schools for preparing more students to earn credentials and degrees in high-demand career fields.

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Publication July 9, 2016 | 7 pages | (16V18)Gene Bottoms and Kirsten Sundell

Career Pathways
Accelerating Access to the Middle Class

More and more jobs require some education past high school, yet we are not preparing enough students for college, careers or both. Career pathways from middle and high school through college and into the workplace can accelerate access to the middle class.

Publication 2012 | 16 pages | 12V03

Case Study: Hunterdon County Polytech Career Academy

Hunterdon County Polytech Career Academy is a shared-time career academy in New Jersey. The center made drastic changes to transform a traditional vocational school into a vibrant 21st-century CTE center.

Publication May 2016 | 12 pages | (16V12)

Case Study: Piedmont High School
Raising Rigor and Expectations

Piedmont High School is a high-achieving school with a 2015 graduation rate of 99 percent. This case study details how the school used the High Schools That Work design to put in place the building blocks to foster a culture of continuous improvement to ensure every student has the opportunity to succeed.

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Publication

Turnaround High School Principals: Recruit, Prepare and Empower Leaders of Change

The publication takes an in-depth look at the kinds of principals required to turn around the lowest-performing 5 percent to 10 percent of public high schools in America. Schools stuck at the bottom of the performance chart need first–rate principals with the motivation, vision, skill and commitment to make dramatic improvements in schools and student achievement. The report describes how we can identify, prepare and support these “turnaround” principals.

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Publication

Progress Over a Decade in Preparing More Effective School Principals

Over the past 10 years, SREB has helped states and public universities across the region evaluate their state policies for preparing school principals who are leaders of instruction. This benchmark report reviews the past decade and looks at 10 learning-centered leadership indicators to gauge how far states have come and how far they need to go in selecting, preparing and supporting leaders of change.