The Learning First Alliance
March 2003
In this report, the Learning First Alliance (LFA) seeks to explain how high-poverty, low-performing districts have been able to turn things around and climb onto the path to increased achievement. LFA was particularly interested in district-level improvements, with an eye to gaining insight about effective system-wide reforms. Based on its analysis of five high-poverty districts that have made strides in student achievement, LFA finds support for what many have long thought: that school improvement requires faculty and community buy-in, data-driven decision-making, high standards, accountability for results, and a steadfast focus on raising achievement. Though the authors downplay the transformative role that charter schools and competition can play in system-wide change, the lessons here are valuable if increasingly commonplace. To order or download the report, go to http://www.learningfirst.org/bie/bie.html.
