Implications from the Network of Schools Evaluation

Evaluation Findings Evaluators found many examples of high-quality crosscurricular projects and, when those were not present, often an academic teacher had integrated technical concepts into lessons. Staff interviewed for the evaluation acknowledged the value of an integrated curriculum and a desire to develop more of it, but admitted that they lacked either the capacity or the time to collaborate with others to do so. The master schedule posed problems in many cases. Incorporating common planning time into the master schedule and scheduling students in a dedicated pathway cohort would allow for better implementation of the curriculum. [See Scheduling and Student Access.] To advance Linked Learning, ConnectEd established a Network of Schools consisting of a group of pathway demonstration sites. During the 2007–08 school year, the James Irvine Foundation commissioned an evaluation of those network sites. The Foundation also produced a shorter summary of the evaluation highlighting its key findings and details the process for the evaluation’s development on the Foundation’s website.