High school graduation rates remain unacceptably low in the U.S., especially among disadvantaged youth (Chapman, Laird, Ifill, & KelalRamani, 2011; Stillwell, 2010), with troubling implications for future earnings and employment status (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2012). Check & Connect (C&C) is an individualized program that pairs…

This information brief provides an example of how one locally-initiated program has implemented the Peer Support Specialist role for youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions. The brief covers aspects of training, coaching, supervision, role definition and financing; and describes challenges and solutions.

This article examines how inclusive education activities can be facilitated through coaching as a means of professional development. A review of literature on effective professional development practices is discussed, and a recent study focused on individualized peer coaching is examined.

When the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) was reauthorized in 2004, it eliminated the requirement that individualized education programs (IEPs) include short-term objectives or benchmarks, except for students with disabilities who take alternate assessments aligned to alternate achievement standards. Instead, the IDEA regulations…

The case studies contained in this document were developed as part of a national project to identify communities that have made substantial progress toward developing comprehensive, coordinated, community-based systems of care for children and adolescents with serious emotional disturbances and their families. After initial identification,…

Two-hundred and sixty-five individual education plans (IEPs) from 13 California school districts representing programs operating under traditional special education funding were evaluated to determine their comprehensiveness, specificity, clarity, and extent to which a "least restrictive environment" was provided. Through interviews with…

California's approach to developing programmatic and administrative models for the implementation of Individualized Family Service Plans (IFSPs) in providing services to young handicapped children is discussed. The models focus on implementing recognized best practices as well as changing state policy and administrative structure to enhance…

Originally supported by Title I, this project is designed to provide remedial instruction in reading and arithmetic to underachieving children in schools serving low economic level suburban areas. Participants enrolled in the project in kindergarten through grade 8 have placed in the lowest quartile in either reading or math in the chosen…

The purpose of this successful experimental program at the College of San Mateo was to determine whether active participation in an individualized instructional program such as the Learning Center would be related to a lower level of attrition of first-time freshmen who are identified as high probability dropouts. Forty-nine potential dropout…

The handbook provides a model for beginning and operating programs for talented/gifted students in rural schools, K-12, based on a program developed in Shasta County, California, in 1976-77 and disseminated nationwide in 1978-79. The model produces individualized programs planned by a committee composed of the student, classroom teacher(s),…

Describes one of California's compensatory education efforts, the diagnostic/prescriptive/individualized mathematics program at Franklin Junior High School in Long Beach, where the majority of the students are transient, minority background, and from welfare families. Value of the program is shown by the fact that Franklin students who had been…

The formation of a consortium of schools and an ensuing project in individually guided education (IGE) are described. (HMD)

This publication addresses basic issues related to the concept of transition as it is applied to students with disabilities in California. Following a pretest (and its answer key), the document uses a question and answer format to discuss common concerns about transition, normalization, the school role, the "Bridges" model developed by…

A SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED TO ASCERTAIN NECESSARY PROCEDURES FOR ESTABLISHING WORK-STUDY PROGRAMS FOR ACTUAL OR POTENTIAL DROPOUTS, AGES 16 AND 17, IN THE LOS ANGELES UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT. THIS SURVEY WAS MADE TO HELP PROVIDE MEANS TO MEET THE CALIFORNIA EDUCATION CODE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPULSORY CONTINUATION EDUCATION. THE STUDY DETERMINED THAT…

Compiled in this document are forms, charts, letters, and instructions used in "Turnstile," a management system for individually designed classroom curriculum extension, small group training, and/or independent study programs offered to approximately 400 gifted and talented students in 32 rural Shasta County, California, schools.…