ALASKA

Vanessa Powell, Wasilla
3rd Grade Teacher
Snowshoe Elementary School
To improve writing instruction and assessment at Snowshoe Elementary School, Ms. Powell pursues advanced study in the 6+1 Traitú writing model through the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. She uses this training to provide peer assistance and coaching to colleagues in her school.

Daniel Rufner, Anchorage
Counselor
Wendler Middle School
Mr. Rufner helps broaden the scope of Wendler Middle School's student services committee. At the National Institute for Trauma and Loss in Children, Mr. Rufner participates in a five-day seminar that covers several topics including trauma-specific intervention tasks and techniques, comprehensive models for working with families, and suicide prevention and intervention.

Christian Wilkens, Juneau
9th to 12th Grade Special Education Teacher
Juneau Douglas High School
Mr. Wilkens is participating in the American Sign Language (ASL) immersion program at Gallaudet University. After becoming fluent in ASL, Mr. Wilkens hopes to serve the learning needs of his district's deaf students, and help hearing students gain proficiency in the language. Recognizing that his community has a serious shortage of qualified ASL instructors, Mr. Wilkens also plans to teach an ASL class at the University of Alaska-Southeast.

INDIANA

Megan Iussig, Lowell
9th to 10th Grade English Teacher
Lowell High School
Partners: Joseph Gianotti, Margaret Hurt, Sherry Peters
Through a combination of data analysis and site visits to high-performing schools, this study group is formulating school-wide intervention strategies designed to reverse a trend toward declining student performance in reading, writing, and mathematics. Led by Ms. Iussig, study group members meet biweekly to analyze the success of their interventions, modify their practices, and increase their subject-matter expertise.

KANSAS

Frederick Nelson, Manhattan
10th to 12th Grade Science Teacher
Manhattan High School
Partner: Tina Schauh
Mr. Nelson and Ms. Schaub study best practices in the use of portfolio assessment, including electronic portfolios. After piloting the process in Manhattan High School physics courses, Mr. Nelson and Ms. Schaub plan to present the program to preservice teachers and other science educators.

LOUISIANA

Dona Delgado, Calhoun
4th Grade Language Arts Teacher
Central Elementary School
Partner: Jennifer Kelly
Ms. Delgado and Ms. Kelly participate in a weeklong seminar to learn how to identify dyslexic students that have been missed by current screening practices. They share their knowledge with other teachers in their school and district.

MINNESOTA

Susan Hjelle, Mora
7th and 8th Grade Teacher
Mora High School
Partners: Pauline Bangma, Jenny Berry, Julia Blenkush, Steve Cottingham, Jane Demarais, Tom Demarais, Tom Doig, Curt Grachek, Angela Kelling, Gail Lange, Lenore Martens, Sue Oehrlein, Dave Souba
In their study group, Ms. Hjelle and her colleagues learn reading achievement research applications. Study group members observe each other's classroom teaching to analyze how faculty use reading strategies across content areas, and develop a common framework for teaching reading across curricula.

Carmen Latterell, Duluth
Assistant Professor of Mathematics
University of Minnesota Duluth
Partners: Jana Anderson, Jeremy Blake, Don Gettinger, Ross Harvey, Sarah Kueffer, Jo Ann Luhtala, Kay Wohlhuter
Professor Latterell, who manages mathematics placement testing for college freshman, leads a study group of higher education and high school mathematics teachers to analyze and reform matriculation practices. Currently the standards, instructional strategies, and expectations in place at the secondary level differ from those at universities. As a result, students are often inappropriately placed in college. To bridge this divide and ensure student success in mathematics, the study group develops approaches to prepare students for university study and revises the placement exams to better assess the mathematics abilities of incoming students.

MISSOURI

Barbara Wilkins, Cuba
9th to 12th Grade Math Teacher
Cuba High School
Partners: Laura Bond, Kimberly Kinder, Tracy Leathers, Renea Shuey, Sandy Stewart
Ms. Wilkins and her study group partners, who are high school and middle school mathematics teachers, are determining the most effective methods of using manipulatives to improve students' comprehension and retention of pre-algebra, algebra, and geometry concepts. Study group members also investigate the causes and remedies of a drop-off in mathematics achievement in the district between grades four and eight.

MONTANA

Rita Moore, Dillion
Associate Professor of Education
The University of Montana-Western
Partners: Scott Ritter, Victoria Seeger
A class of preservice teachers at rural University of Montana-Western collaborates with Ms. Seeger and Mr. Ritter, who are elementary teachers in Kansas with urban students. They provide teacher preparation students with experiences that integrate literacy instruction with culture. The preservice teachers exchange personal essays with Ms. Seeger's and Mr. Ritter's fourth grade students on topics such as, "How I Learned to Read and Write," "What I Read at Home," and "What We Learned from Each Other." Ms. Seeger and Mr. Ritter meet online with the education classes to analyze student work—both the fourth graders' and the undergraduates'—and discuss ways that attention to cultural context can enhance the teaching of literacy.

Linda Zupan, Clyde Park
Kindergarten Teacher
Shields Valley Public Schools
To assist hearing students who struggle to learn phonics through conventional methods, Ms. Zupan is studying Signed Exact English. By incorporating instruction that allows students to see as well as hear language, Ms. Zupan hopes to supplement strategies for teaching literacy. Ms. Zupan is also designing professional development to help her colleagues understand and use this approach.

OHIO

Sherry Haibach, Garfield Heights
7th Grade Math Teacher
Garfield Heights Middle School
Partners: Pat Barrett, Victoria Calabrese, Suzanne Malak, Melanie Riddick, Jamie Shaw
Ms. Haibach and her colleagues engage in curriculum mapping and intensive study to align the school's mathematics curriculum across all grade levels with state and national standards for students. Their process for this work serves as a model for the revision of curriculum in other subject areas.

Kay Rhyan, Albany
Literacy and Mentoring Coordinator
Alexander Elementary School
Partners: Katie Chaney, Carole Fritchley, Kim Harris, Carole Herman, Jennifer Norris
Ms. Rhyan and her colleagues form a study group to become experts in guided reading strategies aimed at improving literacy achievement in their school. They also use a formal protocol to analyze and discuss videotapes of their classroom instruction. Based on what they learn, study group members help teachers at each grade level to implement these reading strategies in their own classrooms.

OREGON

Linda Burley, Bend
1st Grade Teacher
Bear Creek Elementary School
Partners: Adam Carter, Sandra Lyon, Julie Saurbier
The first-grade team at Bear Creek Elementary School has formed a study group focusing on language arts and mathematics achievement to plan for the introduction of a school-wide Title I program. The study group members are leveraging their combined fifty-seven years of teaching experience to provide expert instructional coaching to school staff.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Debra Ryan, Bluffton
4th to 5th Grade Teacher
Bluffton Elementary School
Partners: Julie Aaron, Paula Bergman, Connie Boswell-Smith, Bobbie Callaway, Maryanne Cherry, Katie Conte, Tina DiVirgilio, Juanita Elmore, Kathy Hagen, Holly Hicks, Barb Hodgins, Barbara Gilbert, Helen Goodman, Jenny Kelly, Denise Pfleger, Sharon Politi, Alaina Rodel, Gretchen Rudesyle, Almut Ryan, Beth Sexson, Anue Sweet, Dana Smith, Sally Smith, Iris Tennison, Judy Thomas, Melissa Wagers, Sheila Williams, Jennifer Young, Kimberly Young
To integrate mathematics and language arts curricula, the faculty at Bluffton Elementary has formed grade-level study groups. These groups meet biweekly to discuss student work and the connections between mathematics and language arts instruction. Group members observe each others' classrooms and videotape instruction to discuss and analyze during their meetings.

VIRGINIA

Leanne Worley, Rocky Mount
11th Grade Teacher
Franklin County High School
Partner: Sue Beckett, Susan Layne, Glenna Moore, Sharon Roberts, Raymond Williams
Ms. Worley and her colleagues study ways to restructure their very large, impersonal high school into a number of smaller, more effective learning communities. Their research takes them to various schools across the country to consult with educators who have achieved similar transformations. Study group members also develop approaches to personalize each student's learning experience.