The purpose of the comprehensive school reform (CSR) program "is to provide financial incentives for schools to develop comprehensive school reforms, based upon scientifically based research and effective practices that include an emphasis on basic academics and parental involvement so that all children can meet challenging state academic content and academic achievement standards" (Sec. 1601, No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).
Funding for the CSR program originated from the FY 1998 Labor-HHS Education Appropriations Act, which made approximately $145 million available to state education agencies to provide grants to school districts, on a competitive basis, to pursue comprehensive school reforms. Funding for the CSR program has more than doubled since 1998, with $310 million appropriated for FY 2002. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 incorporated the CSR program into Title I, Part F of the law and made two significant shifts. The first shift is the addition of two new components, stressing the importance of support for teachers and principals and the role of scientifically based research in guiding the selection of appropriate strategies. The second shift is the removal of most references to whole school reform models from the law; instead, there is an emphasis on the selection of appropriate strategies and practices that are based on scientifically based research and that address each of the 11 components. The new draft guidance for the CSR program provides clarification and additional information about these shifts in law.
Funded through a grant from the U.S. Department of Education, the Comprehensive School Reform (CSR) Support and Capacity Building Program assists state education agencies and districts in the Northeast region and the Eastern Seaboard with building the capacity of underperforming schools (e.g., schools that have been identified for improvement or corrective action) to engage in inclusive and sustainable school improvement. For more information see www.alliance.brown.edu/projects/csrqi/
The Education Alliance's publication, Claiming Opportunities (Brown University, 2003) provides information, strategies and tools for using comprehensive school reform as an opportunity to make schools more responsive and responsible to English language learners (ELLs) by:
You may download this publication from
http://www.alliance.brown.edu/pubs/claiming_opportunities/index.shtml.
The Identifying Research Based Solutions for School Improvement workshop was developed in response to the uncertainty expressed by practitioners about how to obtain, understand, and interpret information necessary to make informed, "research-based" decisions mandated by NCLB. The Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement and the regional education labs have developed a workshop to help practitioners. The workshop is designed to give practitioners the groundwork they will need to make decisions about school reform by providing methods for identifying quality research and applying research to school needs. It is geared toward a variety of audiences, including practitioners at the school, district and state level; those who train school and district staff; technical assistance providers; and state education directors. If you would like to preview the PowerPoint presentation and facilitators' notes, activities, handouts, and resources from our web site please visit
www.csrclearinghouse.org/.
Search for schools that have been awarded funds to implement comprehensive school reform programs. This database, maintained by the Southwest Educational Developmental Laboratory (SEDL), is searchable by state, by program model, and by other school features.
We're From the State and We're Here to Help. This case describes the ongoing efforts (circa 2002) of the Maine Department of Education to encourage high school improvement through state-level actions. Three intertwined strategies-the drafting of a statewide reform framework called "Promising Futures," the creation of a new and unorthodox institutional formation called the Center for Inquiry in Secondary Education at the education department, and the success at substantially adapting the federal Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program by intertwining it with Promising Futures and restricting it to high schools-are each key 'value addeds' to individual school's improvement efforts. The success so far of these strategies has depended on a fourth element: the strategies' personalized implementation by largely autonomous, experienced, state education department-based leaders.
Two State Policy Perspectives on Comprehensive School- and District-wide Reform: The Unfolding Stories of New Jersey and Maine State Reforms (PDF) is available. This is the transcript of a talk at The Education Policy Luncheon Series sponsored by the American Educational Research Association and the Institute for Educational Leadership (AEL) on how states have developed various strategies and policies to implement comprehensive school reform.
CSR Roll-Out in Maine: Lessons from a Statewide Case Study: This report documents the unique process by which the state of Maine positioned itself for CSR implementation. Maine focused CSR exclusively at the secondary school level and carefully intertwined it with the structured secondary reform initiative called Promising Futures.
School Portfolios, Critical Collegiality, and Comprehensive School Reform: This study explores the relationship between the practice of school portfolio building (Maine's requirement that CSR schools develop an annual 'portfolio' of evidence documenting reform efforts) and the incubation of 'critical collegiality' among school administration and staff. This study was presented as part of Session 48:36 "Critical Collegiality and Self-Renewing Schools" at the American Educational Research Association's 2001 annual meeting in Seattle, WA.
English Language Learners, the Comprehensive School Reform Program, and the Role of State Departments of Education: This study examines the attention that states are giving to addressing the issues of language diversity in their development and support of the CSR program.
Lessons and Possibilities: Notes regarding CSR in Puerto Rico: This study provides a preliminary analysis of the CSR program implementation in Puerto Rico.
Please access the following pages for regional and national information on the CSR program:
Regional and State Information
Decision-Making Tools For Schools and Districts
Eleven Components of Comprehensive School Reform
This page was last modified on 12/10/2003
