In 1985, Washington State Legislature passed a law mandating that each Washington school conduct a self-study by 1990-91 and every seven years thereafter. The intent is to enhance education through school improvement. This manual illustrates a model self-study process and provides a "tool kit" of implementation aids. The first section…

Outstanding cost-reduction programs implemented at colleges and universities during calendar year 1987 are recognized. Each of the 54 award-winning ideas is described in a paragraph-length program summary. Although some aspects of programs may be unique to a particular institution, creative administrators are challenged to tailor the programs to…

This document provides an overview of the concept of mentoring, this time applied to the area of dropout prevention. It begins by describing the functions and characteristics of a mentor, considering the use of mentors with at-risk youth, and examining the roles of a mentor in dropout prevention. Suggestions are given for setting up a mentoring…

This handbook is one of four handbooks developed for preservice and inservice counselor preparation and professional development. It was developed as a practical guide which will provide resources for supervisors to use in the field for enhancing their own skills or for use with other counselors under their supervision. It is also appropriate for…

An experienced kindergarten teacher implemented a 10-week practicum intervention designed to improve the classroom management skills of 9 kindergarten teacher aides. In-service training for participants included planned workshops, observations, team activities, coaching, and evaluation. Each participant concentrated on a specific skill or area of…

This guide presents information elementary school administrators need to develop and maintain good early childhood education programs for 4- and 5-year-olds. It also presents the curriculum principles that are relevant to both early childhood programs and the elementary grades. The guide will help principals and administrators recognize good early…

The manual describes Project Excel, a program for gifted and talented high school students on a college campus. The curriculum is designed to introduce high potential tenth and eleventh graders to processes of creativity, critical thinking, artistic endeavor, and social consciousness and to provide a bridge into college for them. The project is…

This book provides diagnostic techniques for assessing the needs of school personnel involved in implementing new innovations for school improvement. Using the Concerns Based Adoption Model (CBAM) as a framework, it discusses the roles and personal needs of the people involved in the change process and provides strategies for the total management…

Over a 5-week period 43 typical trainers in a nationwide corporation were observed to determine uses and abuses of training techniques. The adult educators who were observed were technically expert, but otherwise untrained. Factors that enhance or detract from training effectiveness were identified, specifically as regards organizing and…

The purpose of this guide was to provide principals and teachers in San Diego, California with information and guidelines for implementing a 4-hour kindergarten program. Contained in the guide are suggestions for helping teachers (1) plan weekly time allotments in subject areas, (2) plan daily schedules, (3) group students for maximum learning,…

The manual suggests steps, procedures, best practices, and key concepts to create and maintain successful interagency collaboration in the delivery of services to preschool handicapped children. Considered are the concept of collaboration, the rationale for its development, and a means of assessing a community to determine the needs and potential…

The paper describes issues in integrating handicapped children into early childhood education programs. Experiences of the Northwest Center Infant and Toddler Program (Seattle, Washington) are noted to illustrate philosophical considerations (particularly the isolation of handicapped children) and program planning and development issues. Beginning…

Guidance for distance teaching media selection, management, and program organization is offered in this two-part manual. Each of eight units includes questions to be addressed, behavioral objectives, comments, exercises, and assignments. The first unit, a general introduction to distance teaching, is followed by four units covering distance…

The report summarized findings from a study of organizational issues involved in the use of microcomputers in special education programs in 12 school districts. Background of the study and details on site selection were given. Features of the selected districts (urbanicity, number of schools, enrollment, predominant ethnicity, and number of…

This report, prepared by the Delinquency and School Environments Program of the Center for Social Organization of Schools, presents a set of standards for implementing Program Development Evaluation (PDE), a method for strengthening school organizational and research effectiveness. This report supplements an earlier account of the Program…