Strategic Education Research Partnership

"The mission of the Strategic Education Research Partnership (SERP) is to build a coherent, “use-inspired” program of research and development focused on the problems of classroom practice, and school and district management. To carry out its mission, SERP will establish partnerships with a set of school districts that agree to serve as “field sites:” places where ongoing collaborations between practitioners, researchers, and developers can support sustained investigations of approaches to improving student outcomes." (SERP website) Current field sites include Boston, Illinois and San Francisco.

"Inspired by a series of reports from the National Research Council from 2001 to 2003, the nonprofit partnership was created as a vehicle to improve educational research through studies aimed at solving practical problems." Education Week, 10/10/2007

Henry Ford Academies connects with FMC Fund and Gates Foundation

"The Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford Motor Company Fund, and the Seattle-based Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation have invested a combined $11.5 million to start a national network of community-based high schools and to open community-based high schools in urban communities in the Midwest. The Henry Ford Learning Institute, which was founded in 2003 in partnership with Ford Motor Company, will use the $8.5 million portion of Ford Motor Company’s contribution to start a national network of schools, while the $3 million grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation will support the launch of five Henry Ford Academies in Midwest urban communities. The high schools funded by this combined investment will follow the model of the original Henry Ford Academy, a charter high school founded in 1997 in Dearborn, Mich." From Education Week 10/10/2007

National Center for Education Research "Best Practice" Guides

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) recently published two practice guides in education. These guides are intended to sythesize the best available evidence and expertise on timely topics in education.

The two new guides are:
Encouraging Girls in Math and Science
Organizing Instruction and Study to Improve Student Learning