We partner with learning communities to ensure high achievement for every student.

To accomplish this mission, UCLA SMP works with teachers, administrators, and community members to create successful schools, enhance teacher effectiveness, and improve student learning and achievement. We bring together theory (university) and practice (schools) by incorporating the best of current thinking. Our work is not only consistently grounded in the latest research, but also field-tested and based on an intimate understanding of the preK-12 school environment.

Our team of professionals include school/district experienced faculty members and University staff with proven skills and established track records in facilitating and managing large-scale, multi-year, multi-layer school transformations.

Years of extensive, nationwide research into the best practices of education have led UCLA SMP to develop a set of fundamental beliefs about educational reform and leadership development around a critical question:

How can we surface the beliefs and practices that result in high achievement for all students
and build on these beliefs and practices to create a school culture and educational system
which ensures high achievement for every child?

These guiding principles represent the philosophy and vision of the organization:

• Successful school renewal focuses on student learning;
• Visionary, inclusive leadership is the key to organizational transformation;
• Leadership development must be complementary to and integrated with curricular and instructional school improvement efforts;
• A culture of data-driven inquiry supports changed teaching practice in support of high student achievement;
• There is no single formula for success, but there are tools and processes that can help schools in their effort;
• System-wide school improvements are effective and sustainable only when everyone in a school community takes responsibility for student learning and outcomes;
• Networks maximize the effectiveness of leadership development and school renewal programs;
• Change needs to occur at the broader system levels, since schools are not stand-alone entities;
• Sustainable change requires that individuals and organizations engage in continuous learning;
• Powerful learning occurs best when research into how people learn informs pedagogy; and,
• All students must have access to a quality curriculum that is imparted in equitable ways.