Informing High School Choices: The Progress & Challenges of Small High Schools in Philadelphia

In the School District of Philadelphia in 2007-08, almost one third of high school students attend one of the district's 32 small high schools. Of these, 26 have been newly created or significantly changed since 2002. These small schools have a range of admissions criteria with two thirds being selective admission and one third neighborhood high schools. Along with this increase in high school options has been a growing interest in high school choice, with 73% of eighth graders applying to high schools outside their neighborhood in 2006. However, within the School District of Philadelphia, there is only one 'choice'-the neighborhood high school-for the 51% of rising ninth graders who try to exercise choice but are not accepted to any of their preferred choices. For those students who do attend small high schools, our research suggests that this more personalized environment is demonstrating promising outcomes with regard to improved school climate, improved interpersonal relationships between adults and students and student-to-student, and students' perceptions of their school experience. The small high school model is particularly promising for neighborhood high schools where positive relationships may help stem high dropout rates. Among our five case study high schools, the one small neighborhood high school reported great improvements in climate compared to its previous large configuration, although some lingering climate challenges remained. While positive relationships and improved climate create the conditions for learning, principals and teachers at all five case study schools reported that more was needed to develop and maintain a rigorous academic program for all students. They described the need for common faculty planning time to strengthen their academic program and more flexibility and resources to meet the unique staffing and rostering challenges of small high schools

Making A Difference: Year Two Report of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative

This report examines the implementation of the second year of three for the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative (PAHSCI). Funded by the Annenberg Foundation, this initiative focuses on literacy and math coaches providing support to teachers from across the major subject areas to create literacy-rich classrooms in which students actively engage in learning tasks that deepen their content knowledge and strengthen their abilities to think critically and communicate well. This report presents findings from the first two years of research. It includes survey research as well as in-depth qualitative research in participating schools and districts and provides recommendations for PAHSCI stakeholders as they refine the program and for other education reformers as they consider the benefits of instructional coaching as a strategy for improving high schools and student achievement

Links to Learning and Sustainability: Year Three Report of the Pennsylvania High School Coaching Initiative

At the request of the Accountability Review Council, Research for Action identified effective organizational practices used by better performing schools serving substantial numbers of low income middle and high school students in the School District of Philadelphia. These practices are organized into three spheres: Conditions for Teaching, Student-Centered School Community, and Instructional Program. For each sphere, the report offers broad strategies and specific practices to enact the strategies. Nuanced school case studies show how the practices can work synergistically and coherently in schools to help students succeed

The serine protease inhibitor neuroserpin is required for normal synaptic plasticity and regulates learning and social behavior

The serine protease inhibitor neuroserpin regulates the activity of tissue-type plasminogen activator (tPA) in the nervous system. Neuroserpin expression is particularly prominent at late stages of neuronal development in most regions of the central nervous system (CNS), whereas it is restricted to regions related to learning and memory in the adult brain. The physiological expression pattern of neuroserpin, its high degree of colocalization with tPA within the CNS, together with its dysregulation in neuropsychiatric disorders, suggest a role in formation and refinement of synapses. In fact, studies in cell culture and mice point to a role for neuroserpin in dendritic branching, spine morphology, and modulation of behavior. In this study, we investigated the physiological role of neuroserpin in the regulation of synaptic density, synaptic plasticity, and behavior in neuroserpin-deficient mice. In the absence of neuroserpin, mice show a significant decrease in spine-synapse density in the CA1 region of the hippocampus, while expression of the key postsynaptic scaffold protein PSD-95 is increased in this region. Neuroserpin-deficient mice show decreased synaptic potentiation, as indicated by reduced long-term potentiation (LTP), whereas presynaptic paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) is unaffected. Consistent with altered synaptic plasticity, neuroserpin-deficient mice exhibit cognitive and sociability deficits in behavioral assays. However, although synaptic dysfunction is implicated in neuropsychiatric disorders, we do not detect alterations in expression of neuroserpin in fusiform gyrus of autism patients or in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of schizophrenia patients. Our results identify neuroserpin as a modulator of synaptic plasticity, and point to a role for neuroserpin in learning and memory

Analyse von dendritischen Spines in Neuroserpin-Knockout Mäusen

Ziel der Arbeit ist es eine morphologische Untersuchung von dendritischen Spines in Neuroserpin-Knockout Mäusen (NsKO) durchzuführen. Auf diese Weise soll festgestellt werden, ob Neuroserpin eine Wirkung auf die Gestalt von Neuronen im Gehirn hat. Dazu werden die Daten der Analyse von Ns-KO Mäuse mit denen des Wildtyps verglichen. Die Analyse wird in verschiedenen Hirnregionen, Hippocampus und Amygdala, durchgeführt, in denen bereits eine hohe Neuroserpinexpression nachgewiesen werden konnte

Dilemmas of participatory practice: Teaching, learning and managing in a nontraditional adult literacy program

This study examines what happens when an adult literacy program enacts participatory approaches at all levels of the organization. It investigates this evolutionary process at a particular point in time, when the organization was restructuring administratively to enable broader involvement in organizational decisions. By investigating across program levels, thus rejecting the view of administrative structures and classrooms as separate entities, this research emphasizes the vital connections between program context and teaching and learning. It seeks to contribute to the small but growing body of empirical research about participatory literacy programs, thus broadening the national dialogue about possibilities for adult learners and programs. This study is based on a year-long, interpretive research project which sought to enact a form of research as praxis (Lather, 1986), i.e. inquiry characterized by negotiation and reciprocity. Data collection consisted of participant observation in a range of program settings and contexts, formal and informal interviews, and collection of a variety of documents generated by learners and staff. This study identifies three critical features that characterize participatory practice in the classroom and in program management: adopting a questioning stance, experimenting with leadership, and negotiating. Given these features, negotiating the dilemmas that sometimes characterize participatory practice can itself become an opportunity for individual learning and organizational growth. Though these features were more fully integrated into teaching and learning than management, this study indicates that philosophical congruence between classroom and program can further the work of both. In this participatory environment, the ideals of community-building and a learner-centered focus on the individual did not function as competing entities but were interdependent, each serving as catalyst for the other. Finally, the study explores the nature of this particular community, demonstrating how it was built through focus on the diverse participants\u27 shared experiences and concerns as women

Going Small: Progress and Challenges of Philadelphia's Small High Schools

Examines the start-up and implementation of Philadelphia's small neighborhood high school creation in 2003-08. Discusses student demographics, engagement and achievement, school climate, educators' visions, the role of partners, and remaining challenges