A-Z List of Free SEDL Publications

Below is a list of SEDL publications available free online. There are additional publications available in the SEDL Store, where SEDL lists the publications available for sale.

There are 343 free resources available to you.

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School Context: Bridge or Barrier to Change? (1992)
This guide examines some contextual factors that can support or block efforts to improve schools. It discusses the role of school resources, policies, and rules in change, how attitudes and beliefs of school administrators, faculty, and students shape school change, cultural norms in school change, and definitions of at-risk students and context.

School Finance Adequacy: The State Role: (Insights on Education Policy, Practice, and Research, Number 16) (2004)
Perhaps the most visible school finance issue today is adequacy. Defined as the provision of adequate resources to enable all children to meet a stateÕs proficiency standards, school finance adequacy is being addressed in some way in almost every state, especially since the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) has upped the ante with its Adequate Yearly Progress provisions. At the same time, most states and districts are facing reduced revenue growth and tighter budgets. State governments in particular feel this pinch because in recent years they have assumed increased fiscal responsibility for funding education. In this issue, we discuss how adequacy can be determined and the challenges it presents to policymakers.

Schools as Learning Communities: Issues About Change, Volume 4, Number 1 (1994)
This publication describes how four principals transformed an urban elementary school in New Orleans into a learning community, with the help of parents, students, and faculty.

Science As Inquiry: Classroom Compass - Volume 2 Number 1 (1995)
This newsletter for teachers concentrates on discovering new science understanding which focuses on science and mathematics for all.

SEDL Letter Volume XXI, Number 1: Improving School Performance (2009)
School improvement isn’t just about schools. It’s also about students and teachers, and how education leaders at all levels—state, district, school, and classroom—work together to help students succeed. This issue of SEDL Letter explores school improvement in a variety of areas.

SEDL Letter, Vol. XVI, No. 2: Changing High Schools, Changing Our Future (2004)
This issue of SEDL Letter explores how high schools are creating new learning environments to better meet the needs of a changing student population.

SEDL Letter, Volume XIV, Number 3 (Dec. 2002): Putting Reading First (2002)
This issue of SEDL Letter focuses on early reading instruction and assessment, including topics such as reading and migrant students, the importance of phonemic awareness, and questions that can improve student thinking and learning.

SEDL Letter, Volume XIX, Number 1: Developing a Staff of Learners (2007)
This issue of SEDL Letter examines various forms of on-the-job professional development as well as standards of effective professional development.

SEDL Letter, Volume XIX, Number 2 (Oct. 2007): Reading: Practices to Help Improve Instruction (2007)
This issue of SEDL Letter examines classroom organization for effective reading instruction; how to strengthen literacy through father-child interactions; and systemic approaches, including Response to Intervention (RtI), to reading and school improvement.

SEDL Letter, Volume XV, Number 1 (Dec. 2003): Improving Achievement In Mathematics and Science (2003)
This issue of SEDL Letter examines issues related to improving math and science achievement, including the importance of providing a foundation in algebraic thinking well before high school.

SEDL Letter, Volume XVI, Number 1: School Finance and Policy: Dollars and Sense (2004)
This issue of SEDL Letter examines a variety of finance issues that policymakers and administrators may face-resource allocation, school finance adequacy, and efficiency. We also examine how technology planning can help meet the needs of all students and hear from a parent how well-defined, fairly implemented discipline policy is for the good of administrators, teachers, parents, and students.

SEDL Letter, Volume XVII, Number 1
: Reaching Our Reading Goals (2005)
This issue of SEDL Letter is devoted to topics related to reading instruction, including the role of literacy coaches, how to motivate readers, and instruction to improve comprehension.

SEDL Letter, Volume XVII, Number 2: Leadership for Learning (2005)
This issue of SEDL Letter discusses strategies that can help education leaders ensure that students are well served.

SEDL Letter, Volume XVIII, Number 1: Time for Achievement - Afterschool and Out-of-School Time (2006)
Afterschool and out-of-school programs across the country are providing students with more than a place to hang out after school. In this issue of SEDL Letter, read about promising practices and new research findings related to afterschool programs.

SEDL Letter, Volume XVIII, Number 2: A Culture of Data (2006)
Building a culture of quality data means administrators, teachers, and other staff members must have access to the data they need and must know how to analyze the data and use it to make instructional decisions. The current issue of SEDL Letter examines these issues. It looks at a recent research study about state data and discusses how school staffs can take the first steps in learning to analyze data effectively.

SEDL Letter, Volume XVIII, Number 3: 40 Years of SEDL's Building Knowledge to Support Learning (2006)
This issue of SEDL Letter celebrates SEDL's history and touches upon new work.

SEDL Letter, Volume XX, Number 1 (April 2008): Making the Most of Middle School (2008)
This issue of SEDL Letter tackles issues facing middle school educators—the lack of a national policy addressing these years, how U.S. middle schoolers are falling behind in math compared to their peers abroad, whether we should return to a K–8 system, and how afterschool programs can support middle schools.

SEDL Letter, Volume XX, Number 2 (Aug. 2008): Afterschool, Family, and Community (2008)
This issue of SEDL Letter is devoted to topics centered around afterschool and family and community involvement, with a focus on what the latest research shows.

SEDL Monthly (Sept. 2008): Helping Struggling Students (2008)
This edition of SEDL Monthly includes information regarding: Response to Intervention (RtI), organizing for effective instruction, a database of resources for best practices, the What Works Clearinghouse review of reading interventions, and the National Center on Response to Intervention.

SEDL Policy Forums (2001-2005) (2005)
From 2001-2005, SEDL invited a regional network of education policymakers and influencers to an annual policy forum. These policymakers come from state departments of education, legislative committees, and governor's offices in the five states in the region: Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The participants exchanged information on topics of common interest, and also heard about the latest developments in research, policy, and practice from national experts on the topics featured.

SEDL's Working Systemically Model: Final Report (2006)
From December 2000 through December 2005, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) developed and refined a systemic model to improve student achievement in reading or mathematics in sites composed of low-performing districts and schools. This report describes the Working Systemically model developed under this contract, presenting analyses of data related to its impact in 12 sites distributed across SEDLÕs five-state region.

SEDLetter, Volume IX, Number 3: Constructivism (1996)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) The Practice Implications of Constructivism, (2) Resources for Constructivism, (3) Is it Constructivism?, and (4) New Community Networks: Wired for Change.

SEDLetter, Volume IX, Number 4: Technology Comes to School (1996)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) Wired in Arkansas, (2) Lessons in Professional Development, and (3) Resources for School Technology.

SEDLetter, Volume VIII, Number 2: School Safety (1995)
This SEDL Letter focuses on the issue of school safety including how to make school safe, school safety programs and resources for school safety.

SEDLetter, Volume X, Number 2: New Policies for Southwestern Schools (1997)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) From Statehouse to Schoolhouse, (2) Dialing Up Discounts, (3) The E-Rate in the South and Southwest, and (4) Resources for School Policy-Making.

SEDLetter, Volume X, Number 3: Pulling Together (1998)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) A Comprehensive Collaboration, (2) Designs on Comprehensive School Reform, and (3) Resources for Family and Community Involvement in Schools.

SEDLetter, Volume X, Number 4: Building for Learning (1998)
This issue of SEDLetter looks at some of the challenges of matching school facilities design, construction, or renovation to the goals and values of people in schools and communities.

SEDLetter, Volume XI, Number 1: Unlocking the Future: Early Literacy (1999)
This issue of SEDLetter includes articles on reading instruction, early literacy, the Reading Success Network, and resources for improving children's ability to read, among other topics.

SEDLetter, Volume XI, Number 2: At the Heart of the Matter: Improving Teaching and Learning Through Professional Development (1999)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1)Teachers and Students: The Relationship at the Heart of the Matter, (2) Renewing Teachers, Reforming Schools Through Professional Learning Communities, (3) Student-centered Activities and Technology Spark Learning, and (4) Learning a New Language in Texas: TEKS for LOTE and Professional Development in Foreign Languages Education.

SEDLetter, Volume XII, Number 1: Putting the Public back into Public Schools (2000)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) Putting the Public back into Public Schools, (2) Study Circles Stave Off Crises for Two Arkansas School Districts, (3) The Community Is the Key to Engaging Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Families, (4) Parents Are Partners in Fabens, and (5) The Arts of Liberty: Absent from School Today.

SEDLetter, Volume XII, Number 2 (Dec. 2000): Diversity in Our Schools: New Opportunities for Teaching and Learning (2000)
This issue of the SEDLetter magazine looks at some of the challenges schools are facing as their populations become more diverse. The issue covers topics such as bilingual immersion and diversity training.

SEDLetter, Volume XIII, Number 1: Changes and Challenges for Rural Schools (2001)
This issue of SEDLetter includes the articles: (1) When Rural Traditions Really Count, (2) Service Learning Sparks Community and Student Achievement in Balmorhea, (3) Change is a Constant in Cochiti, (4) Oklahoma's Master Teacher Project Leads Teacher Along a Professional Path, (5) Changing Practice to Meet Student Needs in Humphrey. (6) Parkin Elementary School Networks for Success, and (7) Resources for Rural Schools.

SEDLetter, Volume XIII, Number 2: Teachers - They Matter Most (2001)
This issue of SEDLetter focuses on teacher quality, alternative certification programs, a successful permanent substitute program, and a teacher mentoring initiative in Arkansas.

SEDLetter, Volume XIV, Number 1 (Feb. 2002): Family and Community Connections with Schools (2002)
This issue of SEDLetter focuses on family and community connections with schools, school-based mentoring, charter schools, and teacher education programs.

SEDLetter, Volume XIV, Number 2: Within Our Reach - Higher Student Achievement (2002)
The issue of SEDL Letter concentrates on the factors that contribute to increased student learning and achievement, including the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, or No Child Left Behind.

Shared Features of High-Performing After-School Programs: A Follow-Up to the TASC Evaluation (2005)
This study examined high-performing after-school projects funded by The After-School Corporation (TASC), to determine what characteristics, if any, these projects shared. Evaluators reanalyzed student performance data collected during the multiyear evaluation of the TASC initiative to identify projects where the TASC afterschool program was especially likely to have contributed to improvements in students' academic achievement.

Site-Based Decision-Making: Its Potential for Enhancing Learned Outcomes: Issues About Change, Volume 1, Number 4 (1991)
This paper defines site-based decision-making, looks at new roles developed when site-based decision-making takes place, and explains how site-based decision-making is linked to learner outcomes.

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 1, Number 1: Rapid Response Services (2006)

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 1, Number 2: Parental Involvement (2007)

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 2, Number 1 (Dec. 2007): Teaching Academic English to Ensure the Success of English Language Learners (2007)
This issue of e-Bulletin, published quarterly, focuses on strategies for helping English language learners (ELLs) develop academic English.

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 2, Number 2: The Challenge of Educational Leadership (2008)

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 2, Number 3: Teacher Quality Reports and Resources (2008)

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 3, Number 1: School Turnarounds-Recommendations, Actions, and Results (2008)

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 3, Number 2: Effective Interventions for Dropout Prevention (2008)

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 3, Number 3: Final Report of National Mathematics Advisory Panel (2009)
Student effort matters! This is just one of the findings of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel in its 2008 report titled Foundations for Success—The Final Report of the National Mathematics Advisory Panel. This 120-page report addresses one central question: How can schools in the United States improve mathematics curriculum, instruction, assessment, teacher training and support so that all American students learn mathematics so that they can compete with students from other nations? In the report, the advisory panel discusses 45 findings and recommendations on key topics, such as instructional practices, materials, professional development, and assessments. The authors stress the importance of knowledgeable teachers, effective instruction, effective assessment, and the need for rigorous research in mathematics education.

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 3, Number 4: SECC RtI Funding (2009)
In February, 2009, SECC convened key leaders from SEAs in six southeastern states to discuss various approaches to funding Response to Intervention (RtI) during a summit held in Atlanta, GA. Participants attended an interactive session by representatives of various offices in the U.S. Department of Education (Title I, Title III, and the Office of Special Education Programs) to gain insight into fiscal policies that support the implementation of RtI and what is allowable under specific provisions of federal law. Based on information from SECC's evaluation and debriefing session on the summit, this edition of the SECC e-Bulletin discusses important lessons that were learned.

Southeast Comprehensive Center e-Bulletin, Volume 4, Number 1: Improving Teacher Quality and Equitable Distribution of Effective Teachers (2009)
In this edition of the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) e-Bulletin we highlight the issues of teacher quality and the equitable distribution of effective teachers. We hope that the information included in this issue will provide you details on research and practice occurring both nationally and within our region. Be sure to read the stories from our states about their work in this area to find some innovative strategies for addressing both the teacher effectiveness issue and the teacher shortage issue that exists in some areas.

Southeast Comprehensive Center Spotlight (2009)
The Southeast CC Spotlight highlights resources, materials, technical assistance, and professional development services offered by the Southeast Comprehensive Center (SECC) at SEDL. The newsletter also focuses on the work that SECC does with the states of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina to build their capacity to implement the programs and goals of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB).

Southeast Comprehensive Center Spotlight, Volume 1, Number 3: Early Childhood Education Programs and Curricula for PreK Students (2008)
This issue of the Southeast Comprehensive Center Spotlight newsletter summarizes the Rapid Response research document of the same title.

Speak Up!: Engaging Policymakers with Educators and Communities in Deliberative Dialogue (Insights on Education Policy, Practice, and Research, Number 9) (1999)
This brief introduces the concept of deliberative dialogue and its potential utility for policymakers, communities, and educators.

Staff Development and Change Process: Cut from the Same Cloth: Issues About Change, Volume 4, Number 2 (1994)
This informative document spells out the firm relationship between effective staff development and successful change programs. It covers six success strategies that can help ensure your staff development program will serve as a potent motivator of school change initiatives.

State Mathematics and Science Curriculum Framework Development & Implementation: A Case Study Synthesis (1997)
This study compares and contrasts the development and implementation frameworks in 16 states, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

Strategies for Success: Implementing a Comprehensive School Reform Program (2000)
This book discusses the six strategies of successful implementation of a comprehensive school program and provides tips from experts.

Students: How They View Learning and Their Schools: Issues About Change, Volume 5, Number 3 (1995)
This concise summary of SEDL case studies reveals how students define successful learning, how students perceive classroom relationships, what motivates students to succeed in school, how students see teachers' actions as helpful to learning, and how students wish their teachers would act.

Superintendents of Small Districts and School Improvement: Planning, Providing Resources, and Professional Development: Issues About Change, Volume 3, Number 1 (1993)
This paper details how the superintendents of rural and small school districts planned for and provided resources and staff development--and how they used these improvements to implement successful school change.