Leadership Initiative:

Addressing Barriers to Learning & Teaching
and Re-engaging Disconnected Students

In the Fall 2009, AASA/Scholastic/UCLA created a collaboration focused on enhancing development of a comprehensive and unified system of learning supports so that all students have an equal opportunity to succeed at school and beyond. The initiative supports AASA's flagship initiative, Educating the Total Child, which is aimed at advocating for an education approach designed to effect real change by addressing key factors that determine children's academic achievement. As part of the collaborative, AASA, Scholastic and UCLA are creating a range of learning opportunities for education leaders to plan and implement learning support systems. All three organizations are helping to underwrite the initiative, and Scholastic has provided a special grant to AASA to enable school district participants to receive intensive professional development and support from the UCLA Center.

In general, the initiative is intended to help education leaders transform school improvement efforts by developing a comprehensive system to addressing barriers to learning and teaching and re-engaging disconnected students.(For a brief overview, see Toward Next Steps in School Improvement: Addressing Barriers to Learning and Teaching at http://smhp.psych.ucla.edu/pdfdocs/systemic/towardnextstep.pdf. )

Strengthening School Improvement by
Developing a Comprehensive System of
Learning Supports to Address Barriers
to Learning and Teaching

****This webinar was hosted by AASA, Scholastic and UCLA on October 29, 2009.  Access an archived copy at https://scholastic.webex.com/scholastic/lsr.php?AT=pb&SP=TC&rID=48915112&rKey=09f14db0881f5159&act=pb.

To access just the powerpoint presentation click here.

The focus of the webinar was to briefly emphasize why a system of learning supports is imperative for schools to succeed and introduce frameworks that forward thinking states and districts are using to implement such a system.

During Phase I, four districts were chosen from a pool of applicants interested in implementing such a system in their schools. This phase also was used to develop a variety of resources for the work. It has also been used to develop an infrastructure for providing ongoing guidance, assistance, indepth sharing and exchanges (e.g., websites, phone conferences, face-to-face meetings, onsite consultations, regular email listserv sharing and technical assistance).

Phase II 2011-2012 Scholastic/AASA/UCLA initiative continues with Gainesville city Schools and working with two new districts, Stillwater Areas Schools, MN. and Grant Parish Schools, LA. in the Lead District work. On Dec. 15, 2011 there was an in-person meeting of these district teams hosted by the Louisiana Dept of Education. Also attending were the teams from Jefferson Parish and Red River Parish, as well as the incoming chief state school officer from Alabama and the executive director of the school administrators organization in Alabama. This initiative provides a range of ways for the participating districts to share information and learn from each others. The next in-person meeting is in February, 2012, at the AASA national conference in Houston.

Contact Info: AASA - Sharon Adams-Taylor, Associate Executive Director - sadams@aasa.org
Mary Ann Jobe, Director of Leadership Development - mjobe@aasa.org

Scholastic - Windy Lopez, Director - WLopez@Scholastic.com

UCLA - Howard Adelman, Co-director - Adelman@psych.ucla.edu

Linda Taylor, Co-director - Ltaylor@ucla.edu