School-wide implementation of the elements of effective classroom instruction: Lessons from high-performing high-poverty urban schools

The purpose of this study was to identify the practices used at one high-performing high-poverty urban school serving large concentrations of students of color in order to understand how this school increased student achievement. The implementation of organizational structures and systems was studied to ascertain how they supported effective classroom instruction. The study also examined the leader's role in creating school-wide conditions that fostered optimal learning environments that promoted higher levels of student achievement. Four research questions guided this study: (1) What are the trends and patterns of performance among students of color? (2) What are the organizational structures and systems that are perceived to contribute to high student performance in high-poverty urban schools with large concentrations of students of color? (3) How are the perceived organizational systems and structures implemented to support school-wide effective classroom instruction that promotes student learning? (4) How is the construct of race reflected in the school's structures and systems?;Results revealed clearly defined organizational structures and systems that supported classroom instruction that led to higher levels of student performance. Content standards, district assessments, banking time, professional development schedule, and daily English language development were structures that maximized students' opportunities to learn by supporting teaching and learning. The implementation of integrated organizational systems such as data-driven decision making, instruction, professional development, intervention, school climate, and culture supported and informed teaching and learning. Standards-based instruction, research-based instructional strategies, data inquiry, inquiry-based learning, and culturally responsive instruction were school-wide practices used by teachers to provide students with rigorous activities that resulted in student learning.;As leaders of high poverty urban schools seek to improve student achievement, the findings from this study can provide insight into how to implement organizational structures and systems that support school-wide effective classroom instruction.