Issue Papers

Getting Ready, Willing and Able: Critical Steps Toward Successful Implementation of Small Learning Communities in Large High Schools (PDF 195K)

This paper present initial evidence that high schools are much more likely to accomplish successful transformation into multiple small learning communities if they invest in a structured and systemic planning process that focuses building and district staff on key decisions and important prerequisite skills for initial implementation of their small learning communities; if that process is limited from the outset by a firm commitment to full implementation by a certain date; and if they partner with technical assistance providers who have experience doing this work successfully.

Going Small and Getting Smarter: Small Learning Communities as Platforms for Effective Professional Development (PDF 354K)

This paper speaks to how large secondary schools and their districts can meet challenges by using more sensible, accountable and personalized organizational structures (SLCs) as a platform for infusing meaningful learning activities into the daily professional life of every instructional staff member.

Making the Move: How Freshman Academies and Thematic Small Learning Communities Can Support Successful Transitions to and Through High School (PDF 179K)

This paper seeks to shed theoretical and empirical light on the efficacy of using SLCs as a foundational component of comprehensive approaches to helping young people make a successful transition into and through the ninth grade.

Small Learning Communities and Tracking: Evidence from Five High Schools Divided into Schools-within-Schools (PDF 127K)

This paper describes how curriculum differentiation plays out in five public high schools that were divided into schools-within-schools. Drawing on data collected over several years in a sustained field-based study of these five schools, the paper explores how students' social and academic backgrounds are linked with their academic experiences.

Using Small Learning Communities with Extra Time and Extra Help in Core Subjects to Meet the Needs of All Students Without Tracking (PDF 151K)

This paper begins with a conceptual model of the potential pros and cons of grouping students to receive different resources. Research is reviewed on both the positive benefits and the negative threats that can accompany different grouping practices, offering some practical insights on how to maximize the desirable factors and to circumvent the unwanted aspects.