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The Institute for Research and Reform in Education (IRRE) is dedicated to helping schools raise the academic performance of all students to levels required for postsecondary education and high-quality employment. To accomplish this, IRRE developed First Things First (FTF), a reform framework grounded in research about how young people develop and how schools promote students' engagement and learning in the process. The FTF framework identifies student and school outcomes, critical features essential to improve those outcomes, specific strategies for putting the critical features in place, and structured and timed processes for planning, capacity building, and continuous improvement. Within the FTF framework are seven critical features of school reform essential for achieving improved outcomes for students and schools. This article explores the first four critical features, which focus on students. The authors also introduce the three specific strategies for achieving these features. (Contains 1 figure, 1 exhibit, and 26 notes.)

An emerging consensus exists in the school reform literature about what conditions contribute to student success. Conditions include high standards for academic learning and conduct, meaningful and engaging pedagogy and curriculum, professional learning communities among staff, and personalized learning environments. Schools providing such supports are more likely to have students who are engaged in and connected to school. Studies show students with caring and supporting interpersonal relationships in school report more positive academic attitudes and values, and more satisfaction with school. These students also are more engaged academically. The study reported in this paper was guided by a reduced version of the Self-System Process Model developed by Connell. In this paper, optimal and risk thresholds for the Student Performance and Commitment Index (SPCI) and engagement are reported, and then data on how much engagement matters for later success in school are presented. Thresholds associated with teacher support also are presented with estimates of how much teacher support matters for engagement in school. (Contains 4 tables and 9 figures.)

This article presents a theory of change approach to planning educational reform initiatives with a focus on district level efforts. Using examples from ongoing consulting work with urban school districts, we walk through steps in a planning process that can yield a theory of change that meets 4 criteria: plausible, doable, testable, and meaningful. The benefits of this planning approach for evaluation and implementation of district level educational reform are also discussed. We conclude with implications of this approach for educational and psychological consultants working with educational reform initiatives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]