Features
Telling a story is one way of demonstrating our commitment to improving learning at all stages of life. Please see below for a sample of our feature stories.
Bay Point Rising
The small community of Bay Point, California, has long experienced big city problems. But things are starting to change. In the last two years, WestEd's Community Laboratory has partnered with service providers, educators, residents, and youth to strengthen schools and agencies — together making positive community-level changes. more >
Bettering Education for Homeless Students in Maryland
For years, educators working with the nation's nearly one million homeless students have had little support materials to rely upon. That changed in late 2001 with the publication of WestEd's Imagine the Possibilities: Sourcebook for Educators Committed to the Educational Success of Students Who Are Homeless, the first research-based training manual dedicated to making an impact on this long-ignored population of students. more >
Elevating the Education Policy Debate in Arizona, by Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona
When Janet Napolitano was elected Governor of Arizona in November 2002, education became a focal point of her administration. She came to WestEd's Paul Koehler for help. more >
Healing Battered Agencies: Helping Those That Help Others
The factors that hinder many low-income communities also hinder the agencies that serve them. Drawing on intensive field research, this features offers recommendations for strengthening family support agencies in low-income communities. more >
Impressive Gains Through Accountability
In two years, Mesquite Elementary went having lackluster test scores to becoming a role model for school improvement. These dramatic changes did not just occur in Mesquite, but in every school in the Vail School District. Learn how they did it. more >
Learning From Success
The No Child Left Behind Act has created unprecedented challenges and opportunities for educators. Assisting public schools and districts to understand and use this legislation, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement called on WestEd in 2004 to deliver a series of six guides that describe successful practices in schools already in place. more >
Making a Difference in the Lives of Troubled Families
A year ago, Ben Harwin* was a heroin addict who lived on the streets, far from his children and his life. Now he is 8 months sober, enjoying life at home as a parent and as a citizen. Ben is one of many who has benefited from the Nurturing Families Program, a 16-week series conducted in Riverside (CA) by WestEd. (*fictional name) more >
Making Sure Math Matters
By working with WestEd’s Math Matters project during the past five years, Vartan Gregorian Elementary School doubled its number of students meeting state standards for math skills and achieved a 400-percent gain in the number of students meeting the standards for math problem-solving. more >
Shifting the Focus to Results
To assist states with the newly reauthorized federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, WestEd's Northeast Regional Resource Center created and facilitates a workgroup and related efforts that help practitioners talk with each other and learn from recent developments and research related to monitoring special education. more >
Special Services for Special Needs
Young children with disabilities and special needs require specialized services to be included and to succeed in child care, preschool, or other settings in which they spend time. WestEd's Center for Prevention and Early Intervention (CPEI) is a leader in training providers of such services, offering nationally-recognized personnel development opportunities, technical assistance and resources so young children with special needs and their families can participate fully in their communities. more >
Strengthening Accountability, Improving Schools
School district administrator Christine Linder was challenged by No Child Left Behind’s tough accountability requirements. However, it wasn't until she and her district colleagues began working with WestEd’s Local Accountability Professional Development Series that they realized they had not developed a coordinated, systemwide plan to reach higher standards of learning. more >
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan Presents at WestEd Leadership Forum
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan served as keynote speaker at a recent California Leadership Forum, part of Sacramento Mayor Kevin Johnson's back-to-school event. The Forum was supported in part by WestEd as one of the activities of the California Mayors Education Roundtable, a WestEd initiative. more >
WestEd and San Francisco Mayor Host U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom and WestEd CEO Glen Harvey hosted a meeting with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan at San Francisco City Hall on Friday, May 22. Roundtable Coordinator Paul Koehler, who directs WestEd's Policy Center, facilitated the meeting. more >