Released on = August 10, 2006, 11:15 am

Press Release Author = WestEd / WestEd

Industry = Education

Press Release Summary = A new WestEd book offers practical advice for districts
engaged in continuous school improvement. Building on a three-year study, the
authors have created a district action guide with concrete activities designed to
help district personnel understand whether they are on track to help -- and not
hinder -- their local schools\' efforts to raise student achievement.

Press Release Body = A new WestEd book offers practical advice for districts engaged
in continuous school improvement. Building on a three-year study, the authors have
created a district action guide with concrete activities designed to help district
personnel understand whether they are on track to help -- and not hinder -- their
local schools\' efforts to raise student achievement.

WestEd researchers concluded that leaders in successful districts:

* align their efforts to a shared theory about how to achieve school improvement;
* engage in frequent, open communication and establish a common vocabulary with each
other and their schools; and
* maintain focus in the face of external demands and distractions.

\"We provide technical assistance to central office administrators in implementing
this inquiry process, and we see firsthand how urgently schools need district
support to close persistent achievement gaps,\" says Kim Agullard, Program Associate
in WestEd\'s Comprehensive School Assistance Program.

Coauthor Dolores Goughnour adds, \"The good news? If district leaders take a
coherent, consistent, research-based approach in both their improvement-related
communications and their improvement structures, then they will foster school
improvement.\"

The action guide, /Central Office Inquiry: Assessing Organization, Roles, and
Actions to Support School Improvement/, examines the critical roles of the
superintendent and the governing board, along with the local and national contexts
in which districts are enveloped. The activities are designed to engage district and
school staff in developing a cohesive, supportive theory of action for school
improvement.

More information can be found at www.WestEd.org/centralofficeinquiry.

# # #

/Central Office Inquiry: Assessing Organization, Roles, and Actions to Support
School Improvement/
Published by WestEd
July 2006 * ISBN: 0-914409-33-6 * 48 Pages * Paper * $12.95

# # #

About WestEd
WestEd, a national nonprofit research, development, and service agency, works with
education and other communities to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve
learning for children, youth, and adults. WestEd has 14 offices nationwide, from
Washington and Boston to Arizona and California. Its corporate headquarters are in
San Francisco. More information about WestEd is available at WestEd.org.


Web Site = http://www.WestEd.org/centralofficeinquiry

Contact Details = WestEd
730 Harrison Street
San Francisco, CA 94107