The Learning While Leading (LWL) professional development program motivates and further prepares administratively certified educators to become principals or assistant principals and offers continuous support to new principals during induction. The LWL program addresses a clear need for transitional support to motivate, fully prepare, and support…

The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) contracted with three child welfare providers that operate transitional living (TLP) or independent living (ILO) programs (or both) to implement LifeSet, an intensive case management program developed by Youth Villages, for youth in care who are 17.5 to 21 years old. LifeSet helps…

This study reports the results of a single-arm, noncontrolled, Type 3 hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial evaluating virtual reality job interview training (VR-JIT) delivered in five preemployment transition programs comprising 15 schools, 10 administrators, 23 teachers, and 279 youth ages 16-21 years receiving special education…

In a previous randomized controlled trial (RCT), "Virtual Interview Training for Transition Age Youth" (VIT-TAY) enhanced employment for autistic youth receiving transition services. For this study, a nonrandomized hybrid effectiveness-implementation trial evaluated whether VIT-TAY maintained its core implementation and effectiveness…

Increasingly, state departments of education, school districts, and high schools are recognizing that many students graduate from high school underprepared for college-level coursework in mathematics. Many are referred to remedial education when they arrive at college. To help students become better prepared for college and avoid remedial courses…

The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) requires states to reserve at least 15 percent of their total State Vocational Rehabilitation Services program funds to provide pre-employment transition services to help students with disabilities transition from school to work. The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) was asked to review…

One of the driving forces behind the design of the Pathways to Results (PTR) initiative is to dismantle and redesign systems to produce equitable outcomes. This notion of systems producing the exact outcomes for which they were designed can also be applied to the Pathways to Results methodology itself. After five years of leading PTR initiatives…

Prior research has classified strategies to facilitate adult learners' transitions to postsecondary opportunities into five broad categories: advising, General Educational Development-plus (GED-plus), English as a second language, career pathways, and college preparatory (Zafft, Kallenbach, & Spohn, 2006). This two-part study relied on…

Illinois is investing in bridge programs as a strategy to help more low-skilled and low-wage workers improve their skills, acquire postsecondary credentials, and move up to better jobs. This guidebook is built on early lessons of bridge programs in Illinois. It is designed as a resource for those who want to develop a new bridge program or…

Finding the best way for students to learn and achieve success is of utmost importance to the State of Illinois and the nation as a whole. College and career success is critical to the national and state economy. Career and technical education (CTE) has been central to this call for greater college completion, and the credentials that CTE provides…

The purpose of this study was to discover what school leaders considered during the decision-making process when adding a transitional kindergarten program and how the decision was made. This study investigated the decision-making process for superintendents and principals by examining decisions made by rural, suburban, and large school…

The main goals of this implementation study were to: (1) examine how the grant recipients were implementing the changes set forth in their grant proposals; (2) identify initial barriers to implementation of grant activities; (3) identify catalysts that aided in goal attainment and/or partnership development; and (4) consider the sustainability of…

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…

According to Sears (1982), career development is "the total constellation of economic, sociological, psychological, educational, physical, and chance factors that combine to shape one's career." This definition was advanced by the Illinois Career Development Task Force that engaged in more than a year of deliberation. Career development…

More than 2 million people are incarcerated in the United States, and around 700,000 are released from prison each year. Those who are released face daunting obstacles as they seek to reenter their communities, and rates of recidivism are high. Many experts believe that stable employment is critical to a successful transition from prison to the…