CRM news

July 10, 2006 TO: CRM Clients and Colleagues FR: Mary Ann Lachat and Marty Williams RE: An Exciting New Phase for CRM As founders and principals of the Center for Resource Management, Inc. since 1982, we are proud to announce that CRM has been acquired by Public Consulting Group (PCG), with headquarters in Boston and offices across the country. This transition is a result of our efforts over the past year to ensure CRM's future and expand our capacity to better serve educators who are tackling the many challenges of educational improvement.   PCG approached us because they, too, wanted to expand their consulting and service capacity in the education arena, where they already have a large client base in the areas of data management and data-driven decision making, special education, policy studies, SIF integration, school security, Medicaid billing, and revenue consulting. As one of America's fastest growing government consulting firms, PCG also provides a wide range of consulting services in the health and human services arenas, including strategic planning, compliance assessment, operations, information technology, and finance and cost accounting. Over the past several months, we have gotten to know the PCG executives and several senior managers and have found them to be excited about what CRM will bring to their Education Services Practice Area. Our three main areas of focus--data analysis and data use, program evaluation, and adolescent literacy--are strongly aligned with PCG's priorities for growth.  Moreover, we have been strongly impressed by the values that guide PCG's work and their compatibility with ours--excellent service, cutting-edge knowledge, technology integration, and responsiveness to the needs and unique contexts of every client.   A number of important things about CRM won't change. We will remain with the company for at least the next two years. Our offices will remain located at the Pease International Tradeport in Portsmouth, NH. All of our client services staff are staying, and we are adding several others to respond to the new opportunities PCG is creating. We are very confident that being part of PCG will benefit our current and future clients in many ways, and we are eager to explore that potential with you and your colleagues.   Please contact us if you have any questions. Please also visit PCG's website at www.pcgus.com.

Multi-Party Mobilization for Adolescent Literacy in a Rural Area: A Case Study of Policy Development and Collaboration   by Edmund T. Hamann and Julie Meltzer Portsmouth, NH 2005 - For the past five years, the state of Maine has focused on adolescent literacy as an important part of its school improvement efforts statewide. This case study chronicles the work and progress of five schools participating in a five-year adolescent literacy research study--a project that began as a modest rural effort in one county and led to change in state-level reform efforts. Because the project involved research, practice, and policy, the story is one of understanding local and state needs from a variety of perspectives and mobilizing the partners necessary to meet those needs. The multi-party collaboration in this study helped convert the county-focused effort into a vehicle for broader state-level pursuit of high school improvement. Click here to download this publication in PDF.

Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk (JESPAR) Practices That Support Data Use in Urban High Schools by Mary Ann Lachat, Stephen Smith Portsmouth, NH 2005 - This article presents initial findings of a case study focusing on data use in five low-performing urban high schools undergoing comprehensive schoolwide reform. The case study investigates: (a) the ways in which disaggregated data can be used to examine progress and guide improvement in the process of restructuring urban, low-performing high schools; (b) factors and conditions that either promote or act as barriers to data use; and (c) the policy and practice implications of achieving effective data use in a high school reform process. Study findings point to several key factors that have an impact on data use in the study sites: the quality and accuracy of available data, staff access to timely data, the capacity for data disaggregation, the collaborative use of data organized around a clear set of questions, and leadership structures that support schoolwide use of data. The findings build on current literature and also contribute new knowledge of the key roles played by a data team and a data coach in fostering effective data use in high school reform.   Click here to order a copy of this publication.

Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning Part Two: Focus on Developing Academic Literacy Habits and Skills Across the Content Areas by Julie Meltzer and Edmund T. Hamann Portsmouth, NH 2005 - Higher numbers of English language learners (ELLs) are enrolling in U.S. middle and high schools than ever before. Content area teachers may now have more ELLs in their classrooms, but may not know how to effectively support the academic achievement of these students. This paper highlights recommended practices that enable content teachers to be responsive to the needs of ELLs, drawn from two areas of research--promoting academic literacy development of adolescents, and effective content area instruction of ELLs in middle and high schools. Eight instructional practices recommended by both areas of research are discussed in detail to help mainstream content area teachers adeptly support the literacy development of their ELL students. Click here to download this publication in PDF.

Meeting the Literacy Development Needs of Adolescent English Language Learners Through Content Area Learning Part One: Focus on Motivation and Engagement By Julie Meltzer, Edmund T. Hamann Portsmouth, NH 2004 - This research paper highlights the overlap in recommended practices from two emerging areas of educational research: academic literacy development of adolescents, and English language learners in secondary schools. With increasing numbers of ELLs attending secondary schools across the country, more content-area teachers are responsible for teaching them, whether or not they have been trained in best practices with ELLs. The research suggests that teacher professional development that focuses on promising practices for adolescents with academic literacy tasks will provide some of the training that content-area secondary school teachers need in order to productively support the academic literacy development of their ELL students. Click here to download this publication in PDF.

Data Use in Urban High Schools  by Mary Ann Lachat, Stephen Smith Portsmouth, NH 2004 - This research paper summarizes initial findings of a case study investigating the process and effects of high school restructuring in five low-performing, urban high schools that are implementing three central elements of systemic reform: (1) establishing smaller and more personalized learning environments, (2) shifting to standards-based curriculum and instruction, and (3) using data to support continuous improvement. The purpose of the paper is to present case study evidence that can contribute to deeper understandings of conditions and practices that either promote or act as barriers to the use of data by school staff, to discuss how disaggregated data are used for improvement in the process of restructuring low-performing high schools, and to examine the policy and practice implications of achieving data use. Click here to download this publication in PDF.

Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners By Dr. Mary Ann Lachat -Ensuring High Quality Education for Students from Diverse Cultural and Linguistic Backgrounds- Portsmouth, NH 2004 - The Center for Resource Management, Inc. (CRM), provider of research, evaluation, professional development, data management, and data warehousing products and services to education agencies at national, state, and local levels, announces the availability of Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners by Dr. Mary Ann Lachat, co-founder and president of the company. Education reform initiatives emphasize that all students must be held to the same standards of academic achievement. Yet assessment and instructional practices in American schools were neither created nor designed to be responsive to the range of diversity represented in today's classroom. Standards-Based Instruction and Assessment for English Language Learners explores the issues that must be addressed to ensure the academic success of English Language Learners (ELLs). Providing an overview of what standards-based educational reform means for the fast-growing population of ELLs in America's schools, author Dr. Mary Ann Lachat offers practical guidelines to help school administrators and classroom teachers implement effective practices for culturally diverse learners. The manual includes useful tools for conducting a school-wide assessment and designing professional development plans for teachers. Bridging research to policy and practice implications, this unique manual examines: The characteristics of ELLs in America's schools How language and culture affect learning Language development issues for ELLs What teachers need to know about assessment for ELLs Standards-based learning practices that support the success of ELLs In increasingly diverse classrooms, an understanding of standards-based instruction and assessment for ELLs is essential for achieving both excellence and equity in our education system. Designed primarily for principals, classroom teachers, directors of bilingual education, Title 1 coordinators, and other administrators responsible for ELLs, this innovative volume is also an extraordinary resource for bilingual education and ESL teachers, all of whom are working to help fulfill our nation's unprecedented commitment to educate all children to be effective thinkers, communicators, and problem-solvers. Click here to order a copy of this publication.