A Formative Study of the Implementation of the Inquiry Team Process in New York City Public Schools: 2007‐08 Findings

During the 2007-08 school year, the New York City Department of Education launched the second phase of its ambitious and innovative initiative known as Children First. The reform is guided by three principles: leadership, empowerment, and accountability. Key components include restructuring central-office services, increasing principal authority, providing schools access to new forms and sources of support through affiliate school support organizations (SSOs), and developing new data-driven accountability tools that hold schools responsible for student performance while providing rich diagnostic information to support organizational and instructional improvement. Ultimately, this initiative aims to intensify the focus by all educators on student performance and in doing so to stimulate the development of evidence-based cultures at all levels of the system. This report provides formative feedback on the implementation of an important new component of Children First called the Inquiry Team process. The Inquiry Team initiative was rolled out in all 1,450 city schools in the summer of 2007 after being piloted in Empowerment Schools in 2006-07. Under this initiative, schools are expected to establish small “Inquiry Teams” of teachers and administrators charged with examining the performance problems of small, select target populations of students with the goal of identifying instructional “change strategies” that will improve their performance. Through this process, these small teams are expected to make use of performance data and other information to diagnose and monitor student learning and to make recommendations for changes in any aspect of their school to help close the achievement gap for these target populations of low-performing students. Teams are expected to become experts in the diagnostic use of the accountability tools and other data and the Inquiry Team process itself. The goal is for teams to share their new knowledge with the broader school community throughout the year to simulate instructional changes and improvements in the conditions of teaching and learning

School Perspectives on Collaborative Inquiry: Lessons Learned From New York City, 2009-2010

The New York City Department of Education has supported collaborative inquiry as a potentially powerful process for helping administrators and teachers use student data to improve instruction and raise student achievement. Beginning with a pilot project in 2006, teams of teachers have learned to work together to diagnose the needs of students who have not been successful in their classrooms and to develop strategies to improve their learning. Collaborative inquiry sits at the heart of the Department\u27s larger Children First initiative and aims to help educators close the achievement gap in their schools. Each year New York City schools have engaged higher proportions of faculty in the inquiry work. The goal is at least 90% participation in collaborative inquiry. The purpose of this research report is to share lessons learned about the conditions, structures, relationships, and leadership practice that support teacher participation in inquiry. The report also presents perceived benefits of collaborative inquiry as reported by school leaders and teachers. Data come from site visits to 13 schools actively engaged in collaborative inquiry. The research team conducted 213 interviews with principals, assistant principals, instructional support staffs, and teachers participating in inquiry and 37 observations of inquiry team meetings

Health and health care system in rural environment : from Mandritsara to Bekily, geography comparative study of two malagasy rural districts

A Madagascar, la géographie et la démographie déterminent des besoins de santé particuliers. L’histoire a permis la création d’un système de soins moderne, que l’économie et la politique ont grandement affaibli. L’ethnologie a maintenu au fil du temps des pratiques de santé traditionnelles. La géographie de la santé fait le lien entre toutes ces disciplines. Ce travail est une plongée dans le milieu rural malgache. Madagascar est en effet resté un pays à prédominance rurale ; 75% de la population vit à la campagne où l’agriculture demeure la seule source de revenus des ménages. Le pays compte cent onze districts, entités administratives de référence ; ils marquent également l’échelle du découpage sanitaire. Deux districts ruraux, Mandritsara au Nord et Békily dans le Sud, sont retenus pour proposer une étude comparative des besoins de santé et du système de soins. Les besoins de santé sont largement dominés par les maladies infectieuses, au premier rang desquelles figure le paludisme. Il reste la cause d’une mortalité infantile élevée. Viennent ensuite la bilharziose, endémique, la tuberculose, maladie de la pauvreté puis toutes les infections de l’appareil digestif, diarrhées et autres dysenterie, parasitoses banales pour certaines, d’autres se montrant plus invalidantes. L’eau est un sujet de préoccupation permanent pour la population rurale ; cet élément vital peut rapidement se révéler létal. En cas d’excès, l’eau est un facteur favorisant le développement de certains germes ou autres vecteurs de maladies infectieuses. Si elle est insuffisante, apparaissent des problèmes majeurs d’hygiène publique. La malnutrition affecte les populations du Sud de Madagascar, qui deviennent à cet égard dépendantes de l’aide internationale. Le système de soins affiche des carences importantes, en terme de ressources humaines et d’accessibilité. A Mandritsara, une offre de soins privée pallie une partie des insuffisances du système public et une nouvelle offre de soins est en gestation : la formation de personnels paramédicaux. Le Sud semble vivre hors du temps ; les pratiques de santé traditionnelles y sont encore très largement répandues.In Madagascar, geography and demography determine specific medical needs. History has permitted the creation of a modern health care system, which has greatly been weakened by economy and politics. Ethnology has maintained traditional medical practices. Health geography links up all these various disciplines. This work is an immersion in Malagasy rural environment. In fact, Madagascar is still mainly a rural country : 75 % of the population live in the country and agriculture remains the household only source of income. Madagascar is divided into one hundred and eleven administrative districts, which are sanitary divisions as well. Two rural districts, Mandritsara in the north and Békily in the south, have been chosen to make a comparative study of the medical needs and the health care system. On the whole, infectious diseases prevail and malaria ranks first. It is still the cause of high infant mortality. Bilharzia, which is endemic in Madagascar, comes next. After we find tuberculosis, the disease of poverty, and then all the infections of the digestive system, like diarrhea and dysentery, ordinary parasitosis or incapacitating ones. Water is a permanent cause for concern to the rural population. This vital element can quickly become lethal. The excess of water is a facilitating factor leading to the development of some germs or other infectious disease vectors. The lack of water causes major problems of public hygiene. People in the south of Madagascar suffer from malnutrition and get dependent on international aid. The health care system shows considerable deficiencies in terms of human resources and accessibility. In Mandritsara, a private health care service partly makes up for the inadequacies of the public system, and a new resource is emerging with the training of paramedics. The south seems to live in a different age : traditional health practices are still widely spread

Implementation of Kentucky Nongraded Primary Program

We examine the development of the Kentucky nongraded primary program at the state level, and in six rural elementary schools from 1991 through 1998 (case studies of four of these schools are included in Appendix A). Data collected from our longitudinal qualitative study reveal that teachers changed their classrooms in response to the primary program mandate, and some positive outcomes occurred for students. Implementation was hampered, however, by rapid implementation timelines, failure to clearly articulate the purpose of the program and how it linked with a larger reform effort, and a firmly entrenched "graded" mindset. Currently, progress toward full implementation of a continuous progress model for primary students has stagnated. To revive the program, policymakers need to make program goals clear, demonstrate how its implementation will facilitate attainment of reform goals, and assist teachers in implementing the program as intended. (Note 1

Mixed methods prospective findings of the initial effects of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic on individuals in recovery from substance use disorder

The beginning of the U.S. COVID-19 pandemic interrupted integral services and supports for those in recovery from substance use disorders. The current study used qualitative and quantitative data to identify 1) pandemic-related barriers/stressors, 2) coping strategies employed, and 3) how the stressors and strategies predicted subsequent substance use frequency. Participants were 48 adults (40.5% female; 90.2% White) between 26 and 60 years old (M = 42.66, SD = 8.44) who were part of a larger, multi-year longitudinal study of individuals in recovery from substance use disorders. Individuals completed two interviews, one during the six weeks of initial stay-at-home orders in the state in which data were collected and the second within six to twelve months of their initial interview. Common barriers to recovery included cancelled support meetings, changes in job format (i.e., being fired or furloughed), and lack of social support. Common coping strategies included self-care, leisure activities/hobbies, taking caution against exposure, and strengthening personal relationships. The relationship between cravings at baseline and substance use at follow up was stronger for those who experienced worsening of their mental health (B = 21.80, p .99) had lower rates of substance use at follow-up than those who did not employ self-care as a coping mechanism (B = 16.10, p < .01). These findings inform research priorities regarding prospective effects of the pandemic on treatment endeavors, particularly emphasizing treating mental health and encouraging self-care strategies