This handbook is designed to assist schools in organizing and managing an effective school improvement council. It is divided into six sections. Section I describes the benefits of a school improvement council from the perspective of the school district, parents and citizens, teachers, the school administration, and students. Section II provides…

A collaborative study surveyed cooperative vocational education teachers (N=59) and secondary special education teachers (N=16) from metropolitan, urban, and rural school districts in Washington State regarding (1) the number of physically or mentally disabled youth who are enrolled in and placed on jobs from cooperative education classes; (2)…

Youth court, also called teen court, peer jury, or student court, is an alternative to the traditional juvenile justice system and school disciplinary proceedings that empower youth and communities to take an active role in addressing the early stages of youth delinquency. The program provides communities with an opportunity to ensure immediate…

This report examines arts participation in the ten largest metropolitan areas in the United States using data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts. These data indicate that, in general, these metropolitan regions tend to be more alike than different with respect to arts participation patterns. Analysis reveals that while…

This report examines arts engagement in ten key states in the U.S. by analyzing data from the 2002 Survey of Public Participation in the Arts (SPPA). It is organized into ten state profiles that summarize key demographic characteristics, the arts landscape, and public participation in the arts. Because the regions profiled here are not a random…

This report describes public participation in the arts across the four U.S. census regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, the West, and the South. It incorporates data from the 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts, as well as secondary data on regional demographics, the arts landscape, and consumer spending. In…

This booklet is designed to help parents, educators, and communities facilitate parent and family involvement in the education of their children. Eight chapters provide: (1) a discussion of the basics of parent involvement, including the benefits of parent involvement, elements common to successful parent involvement programs, and types of parent…

This interim report documents early experiences with recruitment, retention, service delivery, and establishment of links with employment/training and child support enforcement agencies for participants in the first year of a young unwed fathers program; and presents a profile of the 228 young fathers who had enrolled in the program by the end of…

A resource guide for family day care providers in Massachusetts was developed as an initiative of the state Office for Children. Chapters are as follows: (1) Getting Ready to Do Family Day Care (e.g., definitions, provider qualifications, preparing your home, assistants, complaints); (2) Partnership with Parents (e.g., interviews, trial period,…

This research-in-dialogue study ascertained the viewpoints of representatives of 31 groups of East Kimberley (Australia) Aboriginal people on education, their priorities as to what issues government should be addressing, and their suggested strategies for achieving a system of education which meets perceived needs of the remote Aboriginal…

This report evaluates the Des Moines (Iowa) Independent Community School District (DMICSD) Intercultural programs. The following types of programs are in place: (1) a Voluntary Transfer Program; (2) paired schools; (3) magnet schools; (4) Extended Day Kindergarten; (5) English as a Second Language (ESL)/Bilingual Education; (6) a Bilingual…

For a project designed to increase understanding of cultural diversity in the United States as a preliminary to meeting the educational needs of all the country's children, 42 professionals and parents were asked to identify the critical issues in the education of children from minority backgrounds. Over 200 issues were identified in 8 areas: (1)…

What percent of Americans have been exposed to arts education? Has it changed over time? How do demographic characteristics correlate with arts education? What is the state of arts education in U.S. schools? These research questions are the focus of this report, which is presented in two parts. Using data from the Surveys of Public Participation…