Purpose/Objectives: School Food Focus (Focus) developed the Focus Midwest project on the premise that school food professionals (SFPs) could work together to minimize effort and maximize potential to find new or improved products to serve. Focus designed this project as an experiment to explore how and to what extent this collaborative approach…

This paper asks the question: Is now the right time to consider a statewide policy initiative to support increased access for Massachusetts community college students to paid internships that can help them improve their employment and earnings trajectory? Is this something that employers, colleges, and state leaders would see as a welcome…

When Brad R. Simpson visited the University of Connecticut for a job interview in February, he was struck by a vibe that he finds increasingly rare on college campuses. People, he says, were optimistic. At a time when he encounters many demoralized professors, as campuses across the nation slash budgets and freeze hiring, the University of…

Dwindling public funding as well as greater competition for grant dollars create a challenge for Extension. For Extension to remain a financially viable organization, educators have to be able to produce substantive, measurable program outcomes and impacts. Evaluative data can inform program development and delivery, and helps administrators…

Today, English language learners (ELLs)--students whose primary language is other than English--are the fastest-growing major school population in the United States. Between 2000-01 and 2010-11, the number of these students, whose level of English proficiency is not sufficient to support learning in a regular English language classroom, rose 18…

We explain in this article the need for board training in rural America irrespective of industry or government sector. We discuss how an assessment of training needs has led to the launch of a new project called the National Board Basics Curriculum (NBBC) project. In this project, we have identified four key core competencies that every board…

This report covers the first phase of a three-phase research program entitled "Developing Model NYC Programs for Rural Youth". The report contains three sections. The first section, "An Experimental Rural Youth Program for the North Central States" contains a detailed description of the general framework of a program for rural…

Describes lessons learned from a five-year comprehensive model evaluation program developed by school systems in Minnesota and Iowa. The learner's experience was planned through instructional and curriculum strategies. Performance criteria were established for teachers, and principals and students evaluated classrooms. Pre- and post-testing…

This report on the current status of state advisory councils on adult education contains data concerning the 1975 and 1980 status of state councils in the 50 states. It consists of an introduction, four sections, and an appendix. Provided in the introduction are some conclusions of a 1975 survey on state advisory councils on adult education as…