Individualized Learning Plans (ILPs), an effective strategy to promote students' college and career readiness, are increasingly used in US school systems as a mechanism to encourage students' career exploration and identification of career goals. After describing features of ILPs, we provide an example of the ILP process developed and implemented…

As community colleges across the country look for ways to promote student success, the need for scaling effective approaches is critical. This guide builds on a framework of four phases of scaling developed in Job For the Future's (JFF's) previous publication, "Thinking Big: A Framework for States on Scaling Up Community College…

In 2008, the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) launched a differentiated accountability pilot to allow states to distinguish between those schools identified for improvement in need of substantial help and those closer to meeting achievement goals. In July 2008 and January 2009, the Department approved waivers to give nine states the…

The National Center on Intensive Intervention (NCII) has a mission to build district and school capacity to implement intensive intervention that will improve reading, mathematics, and behavioral outcomes for students with disabilities in Grades K-12 who have severe and persistent learning and/or behavioral problems. The purpose of this document…

This report describes the use of Lead Turnaround Partners (LTPs) in the current School Improvement Grant (SIG) program and provides the results of document review, surveys, and interviews with eight State Education Agencies and seven Lead Turnaround Partner organizations. The study focuses on the implementation of the transformation and turnaround…

Two elementary teachers teamed up to help colleagues develop classroom strategies to use with children suffering from attention deficit disorders. From a pilot test conducted with other volunteer teachers, they developed a systematic process featuring teacher-request consultation forms, strategy searches, action plans, implementation, and followup…

This tech prep planning handbook is based on the research conducted at the Office of Community College Research and Leadership, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The study involved information gathering procedures at each of the 17 tech prep pilot sites about their planning activities. Seven sections are included: (1) tech prep in…

The Illinois Quality School Index (IQSI) is a school survey designed to assist local school personnel in planning for more effective schools. The IQSI provides a structure to determine the existing quality and the expected quality of the school as viewed by administration, staff, parents, and community. This manual is a detailed guide for using…

During a pilot project on the state role in facilitating adult learning, six states were asked (1) to establish and maintain a participatory planning mechanism for gathering information and building consensus among the public and private agencies and institutions within their states and (2) to use that mechanism in formulating policy…

This paper explores the range of ways in which school districts are using Title I funds for early education through kindergarten and examines how the implementation of No Child Left Behind (NCLB) has impacted those investments. It also makes recommendations for local education agencies (LEAs) interested in creating Title I-funded early education…

This guide is directed at vocational programs, especially in Illinois, that are initiating special services for persons with limited English proficiency (LEP). It addresses the following topics: student identification, recruitment and assessment, program planning and funding, services adaptation and coordination, and bilingual vocational training…

This handbook provides practical assistance to all personnel involved with the development, organization, and maintenance of student services within the Illinois Education for Employment system. Part I focuses on organization of the Student Services Committees (SSCs). It defines student services; outlines considerations in the organizational…

During the 1982-1983 school year, the Illinois State Board of Education conducted an intensive study of the state's education-for-employment program. The study assessed the role of the state and local school districts in meeting the needs of their vocational, employment and training, career, and adult education programs. The board's study…

This monograph examines benefits, challenges, and methods of expanding access to adult literacy with online distance education (ODE). The following are among the topics discussed: (1) reasons for considering ODE (new technologies and delivery systems in education; ODE in higher education, business training, and adult basic education; state-level…

This document, one of 12 guides that have been developed to facilitate evaluation by and for local education agency (LEA) personnel in Illinois, covers two phases of educational facilities evaluation: the need for new facilities and the adequacy of existing facilities (with the second part receiving greater emphasis). The guide has been designed…