This resource was prepared in response to a request for examples of developmental screening activities in Early Learning Challenge (ELC) States. This information will be helpful to States as they consider how to identify and address health, behavioral, and developmental needs of children with high needs. To address this request, ELC TA reviewed…

Customer service is a core component of user experience and an important element in making patrons feel welcomed and valued within our libraries. At the University of Maryland Libraries, we took on the challenging task of creating a customer service training curriculum for all staff working at public service points and offering a digital badge for…

The author has been working with colleagues Trudy Banta and Karen Black on a new Jossey-Bass book, "Designing Effective Assessment: Principles and Profiles of Good Practice," which focuses on assessment profiles from a variety of colleges and universities. These profiles also represent the spectrum of institutions from research…

While state leaders understand the value of professional development, they also need to consider the costs. Such costs are some of the most difficult to calculate. If state leaders are going to pony up for improving the instructional skills of teachers and principals, they want to know that their dollars are well-spent. The same can be said for…

This white paper examines the business case for environmental and sustainability (E&S) employee education and engagement. The "business case" is defined as both quantifiable measures of the business value for the sustainability program (e.g. money saved, energy use reduction, etc.) as well as less easily measurable assets such as…

The "Personnel Development Program to Improve Services and Results for Children with Disabilities" is authorized under Section 662 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) and is known as the Personnel Development Program (PDP). The PDP is administered by the U.S. Department of Education's (ED's) Office of Special…

The overrepresentation of the Black and Hispanic subgroups in suspension data is a national problem and a troubling issue for schools and school systems across the United States. In Maryland, an analysis of student suspensions by school districts for the 2006-2007 school year revealed disproportionality issues. In 23 of the 24 jurisdictions,…

Maryland's third unobtrusive reference/information survey, which was conducted by an independent consulting firm, found that good reference service is a result of variables within each librarian's control. Training programs that were developed after previous surveys appear to have increased librarians' effectiveness. Findings of the survey are…

An overview is presented of the beginning teacher program in the Frederick County (Maryland) schools. The focus of the program is on three concerns: (1) the problems of beginning teachers as perceived by themselves and others; (2) the kinds of support efforts that presently exist; and (3) implications for the future development of support programs…

The program of the Department of Staff Development in the Montgomery County, Maryland, school district is described. (CB)

This is the third of three volumes that constitute the final evaluation report of Project STAR (State Technical Assistance Resources), an undertaking of the Maryland State Department of Education designed to help 36 elementary schools improve their reading programs. This volume is the project handbook and contains information concerning the…

A report is given of a study conducted on the nature and extent of support that local school systems in Maryland currently provide to new teachers. The study had two components: a statewide survey and case studies of promising programs. The survey polled Associate or Assistant Superintendents of Instruction in 23 of Maryland's 24 county school…

Much has been written in recent years about advances in assessment technologies designed to aid decision making in the juvenile justice system. Adoption and implementation of this latest generation of actuarial tools, however, have lagged behind their development. Assessment in juvenile justice exemplifies the "science-practice gap" that…

For the past 18 months, a middle school in Bowie, Maryland, has been enthusiastically committed to change. Teachers have become catalysts, realizing they possessed the skills and abilities to remedy schooling problems. They confronted school failure through school-based management, self-actualizing activities, staff development, and professional…

Action science is a communication technique that staff developers can use to increase interpersonal competence and problem-solving skills in schools engaged in the process of school transformation. An example of the action science intervention at a Maryland elementary school is presented. (SM)