newsletter
Implementing Smaller Learning Communities
“Thank you for the assistance in helping us to get our academies up and running. We are pleased to report that students are participating with improved attendance. Thank you again, WestEd.”
“To a person, everyone felt the information was very helpful…. Assistant principals expressed how the information you shared really moved them forward in their thinking. Your experience in the schools as well as your SLC knowledge will be an added resource and we are looking forward to working with you.”
Contact Information
Rose Owens-West
510.302.4246
rowensw@wested.org
Related Staff
Related Resources
Improving the Quality and Use of Postsecondary Data:
Who Should Participate
- Smaller learning community grantee teams
- Teams of other secondary school staff who are interested in implementing smaller learning communities, including district and high school administrators, high school program coordinators, high school teacher leaders and teachers, and professional developers
Goals of the Service
Whether in direct support of the No Child Left Behind act or more generally, smaller learning communities are a promising approach to improved student achievement at the secondary level. This service focuses on helping high schools to replicate and benefit from the qualities of smallness in larger high schools.
Format of the Service
Seminars, technical assistance, and consultations can be combined in any way and are driven by the needs of the client.
What You Learn
Participants explore the theory, research, and practice relating to smaller high school learning communities:
- How to use research as an effective framework for designing and implementing smaller learning communities
- How to develop a smaller learning community (SLC) action plan
- How to design effective site-based professional development programs in support of an SLC plan
- How to monitor and evaluate implementation of an SLC plan
- How to restructure the high school by creating academies, houses, schools-within-a-school, or other formats featuring smallness
- How to effectively engage students through innovations designed to personalize high school, and thereby improve achievement
Who Facilitates Your Learning
Rose Owens-West, Ralph Baker, and Gerald Wolfe of WestEd’s Comprehensive School Assistance Program (CSAP) are the primary team working with clients. Additional CSAP staff, with expertise in a variety of topics pertinent to secondary school improvement, also contribute to the services, depending on client needs.
What Resources Support Your Learning
Resources for teachers and administrators and tools to help with planning and evaluation are available to clients.
What the Research Says
A strong body of research from the last 15 years supports the effectiveness of smaller schools, particularly at the secondary level. Smaller learning communities do not constitute a quick fix for secondary school improvement, but they have been shown to improve implementation of standards-based curriculum and assessment, increase teacher communication and collaboration, and build effective site-based professional development opportunities.
What Is the Cost
Baseline costs are $1,500 per day
Contact Information
Rose Owens-West
510.302.4246
rowensw@wested.org