The Flint (Michigan) Community Schools developed a four-phase School Improvement process model. In Phase 1 (Commitment), school district and administrative support were obtained and pilot schools were selected (one elementary and one middle school). The principals of these schools and one teacher representative from each received training in…

This report documents the efforts of 15 Michigan school districts to bring about long term changes and improvement in the way science is taught to elementary school students. Over a three year period encouraging results on several fronts were noted, among which were improvements in student learning; an increase in teachers' abilities, confidence,…

In response to the problem of adult literacy, the Michigan State Board of Education initiated a program to reduce the functional illiteracy rate among adults in the state significantly. This is to be accomplished by: (1) raising the level of awareness of the scope of illiteracy problems in the state; (2) developing comprehensive literacy programs…

Prompted by requirements of the 1990 Perkins Act and a growing dissatisfaction among employers with college graduates' skill levels, many schools have undertaken curricular reform through tech prep and school-to-work, with most of the efforts working toward the integration of academic content into vocational programs. In general, however, tech…

It is time for reform advocates to expand their emphasis on improving instruction and school management to include a comprehensive component for addressing barriers to learning. In doing so, they must pursue this third component with the same level of priority they devote to the other two. That is, such an enabling (or learner support) component…

A group of three conference papers, all addressing the subject of effective programs to decrease the number of school dropouts, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Systemic Approaches to Reducing Dropouts" (Michael Timpane), asserts that dropping out is a symptom of failures in the social, economic, and educational systems.…

Western Michigan University (WMU) in Kalamazoo, Michigan, has partnered with Michigan community colleges to develop an occupational education studies (OES) program to prepare future career and technical education (CTE) instructors by allowing students to transfer their technical degree from the community college as their teaching major at the…

The following are among the 47 papers included: "Academic Performance and Retention of College of Agriculture Students" (Garton, Dyer, King); "Perceptions of Recent Graduates and Employers about Undergraduate Programs in the College of Agriculture and Natural Resources at Michigan State University" (Heyboer, Suvedi);…