Language Arts - Volume 85, Issue 5, 2008

This article describes how establishing a literacy-focused school leadership team can strengthen and expand the reach of the literacy coach. This team helps bring faculty into dialogue to critique and transform their current literacy practices and works towards developing a common vision, beliefs, and a shared language within the school. This article describes one way to structure professional development work with these teams and highlights one school leadership team’s journey with their faculty as they begin working towards transforming the way their work with one another and their students.

During the 2004-05 school year, Parkview Elementary School experienced a dramatic shift from a focus on authentic assessment and responsive, individualized teaching to a one-size-fits-all approach to literacy assessment and instruction. In an effort to boost test scores, the district mandated the use of Open Court Reading, a scripted language arts program, and an accompanying assessment system.

According to van der Pluijm (2006), an ecological community occurs when interacting groups, living in the same area, are joined together by the set of connections. This definition implies a symbiotic relationships and the acknowledgment that what affects one member or part of the community also affects the others. When the interconnections are overlooked, resources are under-utilized or become tainted.

This invited Research Directions article, focusing on the case of English-Only policies, helps education professionals understand the value of a critical- historical lens for analyzing and developing equitable approaches for initiating changes that will benefit all children.

The authors explore three main sources of theoretical framing for action research in schools: approaches informed by cognitive theories of individual, professional and organizational learning, largely from the field of psychology.

In this article, we present how work through a collaborative descriptive inquiry group broadened our understanding of bilingual children’s literacy as well as the literacy practices we fashion in order to support their development.

For this themed issue, In Support of Teaching…In Support of Learning…, the editors of Language Arts invited a group of current and former classroom teachers to contribute to the professional book reviews department.

Reading books that highlight teaching and learning in a variety of contexts provide opportunities for self reflection and community dialogue. They uphold or serve as the foundation for conversations and responses to stories that engage us and enrich our imagination.

This poem, by J. Patrick Lewis, reminds us how all members of our school communities can draw on personal experiences to be both teachers and learners.