District and School Improvement

Image of young adults talking in a libraryBetter schools help make better communities and improve students’ chances of success. Our work in school improvement and effectiveness encompasses a broad range of issues, including comprehensive school reform, high school improvement, turnaround schools, and standards-based reform, as well as policies and practices that influence teacher effectiveness.
 

For more about our client services in this topic area, visit the District and School Improvement Center >>

Latest Work

14 Aug 2019
Spotlight

Back to School: Preparing Students and Schools for Success

As students across the country return to school, those responsible for their care and education are finalizing their plans to ensure a productive year. AIR’s evidence-based resources for back to school support educators through three essential lenses: school climate, safety, and social and emotional learning (SEL); college and career readiness; and school improvement.
BARR Model classroom with students
30 Jul 2019
Report

Building Assets and Reducing Risks (BARR) Validation Study: Final Report

Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) is a comprehensive, strength-based approach that uses eight interlocking strategies to build intentional staff-to-staff, staff-to-student, and student-to-student relationships in secondary schools. Read the final report of a large-scale independent evaluation of the BARR model in ninth grade in eleven high schools in Maine, California, Minnesota, Kentucky, and Texas.
Image of Texas State House
11 Jul 2019
In the Field

Story Map: Meet the Texas Comprehensive Center

There are more than 5 million students in Texas, the second-largest state in the U.S. by population and geography. To truly move the dial on education in this highly diverse state, the Texas Comprehensive Center uses a variety of tools and approaches and considers challenges from multiple perspectives. Read through this story map to learn more about the Center's work.
22 May 2019 | 9:30 AM - 10:30 AM
Event

How Federal Policy Can Empower States and Communities to Provide Whole Child Education For All Students

Decades of research show that whole child approaches to learning, which emphasize a positive school climate; an integrated approach to social, emotional, and academic learning; and wraparound services are essential to students' academic and life success and can reduce the negative effects of poverty on achievement. Speakers at this briefing will examine federal policy levers state and local policymakers can use to invest in research-based whole child approaches to learning.
30 Apr 2019
Guide

Guide to Working With External Providers (Fourth Edition)

Although ESSA defines what is meant by evidence-based interventions, districts are responsible for selecting and implementing the strategies that are best aligned to their school needs. This guide was developed to support state and district leaders in identifying and working with external partners.
5 Apr 2019
ESSA

ESSA Action Guides

Signed into law in 2015, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a commitment by Congress and the U.S. Department of Education to equal educational opportunity for all American students. As states continue to implement ESSA programs, AIR is providing a series of action guides to support and inform education leaders.
Image of map of Arizona showing Chinle
11 Mar 2019
In the Field

Building Leadership Skills to Strengthen Schools in Chinle, Arizona

The Chinle Unified School District faced both leadership challenges and teacher retention problems prior to the 2016-2017 school year. In fall 2017, AIR began providing competency-based turnaround leadership coaching, focusing on the patterns of thinking, feeling, acting, or speaking that cause a principal to be successful.
4 Mar 2019
Service

Assess and Improve │ Early Warning Systems in Education

An early warning system can be a powerful strategy to provide data to inform educators’ practices and help students get back on track. An EWS is implemented as a continuous improvement process, improving practices through review and refinement of practice. Through analysis of process, practice, and data, our clients receive recommendations to take action that improve student outcomes.
4 Mar 2019
Service

Launch and Implement │ Early Warning Systems in Education

In close collaboration with education leaders, AIR experts help clients use a seven-step, research-based continuous improvement process that enables educators to keep a close eye on at-risk students and to intervene early—and often—to improve student outcomes.
4 Mar 2019
Service

Customize Tools and Supports │ Early Warning Systems in Education

AIR translates research and evidence-based practices into ready-to-use, effective models to identify students early and support them with appropriate interventions to achieving key educational milestones.
View all