Publications

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First Things First
IRRE Publications and Reports

First Things First
Other Publications

First Things First
Third-Party Evaluation Reports

Other Articles by IRRE Staff

IRRE In The News

First Things First
IRRE Publications and Reports

Connell, J.P. (2003). Getting Off The Dime Toward Meaningful Reform in Secondary Schools: Lessons on How Model Developers and School Districts Can Facilitate the Success of School Reform. Benchmarks This article in the newsletter of the National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform provides an overview of the IRRE paper, Getting Off the Dime.

Connell, J. P. (2003). Getting Off The Dime: First Steps Toward Implementing First Things First. Report prepared for the US Department of Education. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

Connell, J. P. and Broom, J. (2004). The Toughest Nut to Crack: First Things First's (FTF) Approach to Improving Teaching and Learning. Report prepared for the US Department of Education. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

Connell, J.P., & Klem, A.M. (2000). You Can Get There from Here: Using a Theory of Change Approach to Plan Urban Education Reform. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consulting, 11(1), 93-120.

IRRE. (in press). First Things First. In R. Smith (Ed.), The History and Impact of Whole School High School Reform Models. Wilmington, NC: University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

IRRE. (2005). A Guide to the Family Advocate System. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

IRRE. (2006). A Guide to the Family Advocate System: Additional Activities. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

IRRE. (2004). Mapping of First Things First Components to the Gates Foundation Essential Components of Schools. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education

IRRE. (2003). First Things First: A Framework for Successful School Reform, 4th Edition. A white paper prepared for the E.M. Kauffman Foundation, Kansas City, MO.

IRRE. (2003). Kansas City, Kansas School District Trends on the Kansas State Assessment Since District-Wide Implementation of First Things First: 2001 to 2003. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

Klem, A.M. and Connell, J.P. (2004). Relationships Matter: Linking Teacher Support to Student Engagement and Achievement. Journal of School Health, 74(7), 262-273 Originally presented at the Wingspread Conference on School Climate and Connectedness, June, 2003, Racine, WI.

Klem, A.M. and Connell, J.P. (2004). Relationships Matter: Linking Teacher Support to Student Engagement and Achievement. Paper presented at the Tenth Biennial Meeting of the Society for Research on Adolescence, March 11-14, 2004, Baltimore, Maryland. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

Klem, A.M., Levin, L., Bloom, S., & Connell, J.P. (2003). First Things First's Family Advocate System: Building Relationships to Support Student Success. Report prepared for the US Department of Education. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

First Things First
Other Publications

Klem, A.M. (2004). Examining Adequate Yearly Progress in No Child Left Behind in Two Districts. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

Kronley, R.A. and Handley, C. (2003). Reforming Relationships: School Districts, External Organizations, and Systemic Change. Report written for School Communities That Work: A National Task Force on the Future of Urban Districts. Providence, RI: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Available on the web at: http://www.schoolcommunities.org/images/RR.pdf

National Research Council and the Institute of Medicine (2004). Engaging Schools: Fostering High School Students' Motivation To Learn. Committee on Increasing High School Students' Engagement and Motivation to Learn. Board on Children, Youth, and Families, Division of Behavioral and Social Science and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. Available on the web at: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309084350/html/

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory and National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform. (2004). The Catalog of School Reform Models. Portland, OR: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory and National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform. Available on the web at: http://www.nwrel.org/scpd/catalog/ModelDetails.asp?ModelID=49.

Stewart, M. (2004). An Urban High School Emerges from Chaos. In Breaking Ranks II: Strategies for Leading High School Reform (pp. 75-82). Reston, VA: National Association of Secondary School Principals. Available on the web at: http://www.principals.org/breakingranks/breakingranks2.cfm.

Rural School and Community Trust. (2004). Beating the Odds: High Performing, Small High Schools in the Rural South. A Rural School and Community Trust Policy Paper Prepared for the Southern Rural High School Study Initiative. Arlington, VA: Rural School and Community Trust. Available on the web at: http://www.ruraledu.org/docs/beatingodds/SGAreport.pdf

U.S. Department of Education. (2002, April). First Things First: Relationships Help Reforms Come into Focus at a Kansas City High School. Community Update. Available on the web at: http://wdcrobcolp01.ed.gov/CFAPPS/OIIA/communityupdate/searchpage2.cfm?mag_id=68.

Immigrant Students, Urban High Schools: The Challenge Continues (15 pages, 382 KB pdf) (This Carnegie Foundation publication discusses Houston's success in using First Things First to serve immigrant students and integrate them into their schools, pp. 6-10.) Available on the web at: http://www.carnegie.org/pdf/immigrantstudents.pdf

A District Leader's Guide to Relationships that Support Systemic Change, a publication of the Annenberg Institute (18 pages, 135 KB pdf) Available on the web at: http://www.schoolcommunities.org/Archive/images/RR_summary.pdf

First Things First
Third Party Evaluation Reports

Gambone, M.A., Klem, A.M., Summers, J.A., Akey, T. and Sipe, C. Turning the Tide: The Achievements of the First Things First Education Reform in the Kansas City, Kansas Public School District (Executive Summary). Philadelphia: Youth Development Strategies, Inc. Available on the web at: http://www.ydsi.org/ydsi/pdf/KCSExecSummaryRev6A.pdf.

Estacion, A., McMahon, T., Quint, J. (2004). Conducting Classroom Observations in First Things First Schools. Working Paper. New York: MDRC. Available on the web at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/390/full.pdf.

Quint, J.C., Bloom, H.S., Black, A. R., Stephens, L., Akey, T.M. (2005). The Challenge of Scaling Up Educational Reform: Findings and Lessons from First Things First (Full Report) New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Available on the web at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/412/full.pdf

Quint, J.C., Bloom, H.S., Black, A. R., Stephens, L., Akey, T.M. (2005). The Challenge of Scaling Up Educational Reform: Findings and Lessons from First Things First (Executive Summary) New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Available on the web at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/412/execsum.html

Quint, J.C., Byndloss, D.C., and Melamud, B. (2003). Scaling Up First Things First: Findings from the First Implementation Year (Full Report). New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Available on the web at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/363/full.pdf.

Quint, J.C., Byndloss, D.C., and Melamud, B. (2003). Scaling Up First Things First: Findings from the First Implementation Year (Executive Summary). New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation. Available on the web at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/363/execsum.pdf.

Quint, J.C. (2002). Scaling Up First Things First: Site Selection and the Planning Year. New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (Full Report). Available on the web at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/88/full.pdf.

Quint, J.C. (2002). Scaling Up First Things First: Site Selection and the Planning Year. New York: Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation (Executive Summary). Available on the web at: http://www.mdrc.org/publications/88/execsum.html.

Gambone, M.A., Klem, A.M., Moore, W.P., & Summers, J.A. (2002). First Things First: Creating the Conditions and Capacity for Community-Wide Reform in an Urban School District (Full Report). Philadelphia: Gambone & Associates. Available on the web at: http://www.ydsi.org/ydsi/pdf/First_Things_First.pdf.

Gambone, M.A., Klem, A.M., Moore, W.P., & Summers, J.A. (2002). First Things First: Creating the Conditions and Capacity for Community-Wide Reform in an Urban School District (Executive Summary). Philadelphia: Gambone & Associates. Available on the web at: http://www.ydsi.org/ydsi/pdf/FTFExecSummary.pdf.

Other Articles by IRRE Staff

Connell, James P., Klem, Adena M., Broom, Julie M., Kenney, Mark, with contributions by McLaughlin, Milbrey. (2006). Going Small and Getting Smarter: Small Learning Communities as Platforms for Effective Professional Development. The work reported herein was supported under a Task Order to provide "Regionally-Based Technical Assistance to Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) Grantees," administered by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.

Connell, James, P.; Eccles, Jacquelyn; Kemple, James, J.; Legters, Nettie (2006). Making the Move: How Freshman Academies and Thematic Small Learning Communities Can Support Successful Transitions. The work reported herein was supported under a Task Order to provide "Regionally-Based Technical Assistance to Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) Grantees," administered by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.

Connell, James, P.; Klem, Adena J.; Legters, Nettie; West, Thomas, C. (2006). Getting Ready Willing and Able: Critical Steps Toward Successfull Implementation of Small Learning Communities in Large High Schools. The work reported herein was supported under a Task Order to provide "Regionally-Based Technical Assistance to Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) Grantees," administered by the Office of Vocational and Adult Education, U.S. Department of Education.

IRRE. (1998). Research Assessment Package for Schools (RAPS) Manual. Philadelphia: Institute for Research and Reform in Education.

Klem, A.M., and Connell, J.P. (in press). Engaging Youth in School. In L.R. Sherrord, C. Flanagan, R. Kassimir (Eds.), Youth Activism: An International Encyclopedia. Westport, CT: Greenwood Publishing Co.

IRRE In The News

Hendrie, C. (2005). First Things First Shows Promising Results . Education Week, Volume 24, No. 26.

U.S. Department of Education (2005). First Things First Starts with Student Achievement as the Goal The Education Innovator, Volume III, No. 39. Available online at: http://www.ed.gov/news/newsletters/innovator/2005/1027.html