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),…

Designed to assist California policy and decision makers with planning to meet the future educational needs of limited-English speaking (LES) and non-English speaking (NES) students, this study was undertaken: (1) to describe and analyze the implementation of all areas of the legislatively required services to LES/NES children, and the structures…

Designed to identify the strengths, weaknesses, and effects of California's Family Farm Program, an umbrella structure composed of four distinct but interrelated organizations (the Family Farm Council, the Central Information Service located at the University of California-Davis, Hartnell College Family Farm Resource Center at Salinas, and Kings…

Data were collected from 15 school districts in northern California to assess three state-mandated evaluation procedures: (1) a comprehensive program planning report; (2) a year-end report on expenditures and attainment of objectives; and (3) a monitor and review visitation whose purpose was to monitor program compliance, observe improvements in…

Succeeding in the labor market depends now more than ever on having the right education and training. This reality poses a particular challenge for out-of-school youth, who are no longer connected to institutions designed to provide them with training and connect them to good jobs. The Center for Employment Training (CET) in San Jose, California,…

As part of a series of reports designed to support the implementation of Proposition 10: The California Children and Families Act and to provide comprehensive and authoritative information on critical issues concerning young children and families in California, this report focuses on the role of public education and outreach and provides…

The first findings of an evaluation of California's welfare-to-work program, Greater Avenues for Independence (GAIN), related to its impact on employment, earnings, and welfare payments. The impact results came from a study of applicants for and recipients of Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) in six counties and were limited to the…

This report looks at the history, purposes and goals, components, and implementation progress after two years of the California community colleges' matriculation plan. The first section discusses legislation which brought about the adoption of a matriculation plan. The second section details the purpose and goals of the matriculation plan, which…

This paper describes the national, state, and local contexts in which California (CA) is implementing School-to-Career (STC). Section I presents an historical view of School-to-Work (STW), describing national goals of the STW Opportunities Act 1994 (STWOA), and also discusses CA's STC efforts. Section II provides contextual information about STW…

The purpose of this study was to examine exemplary communication efforts of 12 selected outstanding schools in the United States. The methodology employed was case study methodology supplemented by interviews with key educational administrators. The results show unusual and outstanding ways that schools communicate with parents and the public, as…

Comprehensive school reform calls for a "whole-school" and coordinated approach to improve schools. The strategy differs from piecemeal and fragmented efforts that also in the past have seemed only to lead to short-lived changes. To stimulate whole-school reform across the country, Congress appropriated funds in FY1998 for the U.S.…

Describes the focus and activities of the schools involved in California's "Partnerships in Character Education" project. In its third year, the pilot project has developed five separate school programs. Team members assess the environment of the school and design a program incorporating adult modeling and curriculum integration. (MJP)

The process of change at the academic Sepulveda (California) Veterans' Administration hospital during implementation of a new ambulatory primary care program was examined through individual or focus group interviews with 63 managers, house officers, and patients. Major problems included administrative integration of in- and outpatient services;…

While researchers continue to debate teacher qualifications, explore how to get more qualified teachers into urban schools serving low-income students, or try to determine whether teachers who are successful with middle-class students would also be successful with pupils in low-income urban schools, one practicable idea can easily be overlooked.…

Formally stating and assessing student learning outcomes (SLOs) is a new focus for California community colleges required by the 2002 Accreditation Standards. This paper, the first in a series, explores one aspect of this sea change across the state: the emergence of a new group of faculty leaders, Student Learning Outcomes and Assessment…