K-12 education resources are often allocated non-strategically, with schools spending time and money on activities that have little relationship to student outcomes. Most of these decisions take place within districts, rooted in the processes of setting schedules, staffing levels, and assignments, and creating final budgets. Local Education…

Policymakers know that improving teaching in our schools requires a systemic look at many policies related to educator effectiveness. For example, teacher preparation programs need to be dramatically improved and strengthened, but without accompanying reform in compensation, even highly effective and innovative schools of education are unlikely to…

In fall of 2011 the University at Buffalo Libraries circulation department undertook Six Sigma training for the purpose of overhauling its student scheduling process. The department was able to mitigate significant staffing budgetary reductions and resource reallocations and to overcome the unique challenges of scheduling student labor for a…

After one year of providing virtual reference service through an instant messaging (IM) service, Binghamton University (BU) Libraries, under the purview of its Digital Reference Committee (DRC), undertook a study of collected session transcripts. The goals of this work were to determine who was using the IM service and why; if staffing for the…

This technical brief describes updates to a database of dropout prevention programs and policies in 2006/07 created by the Regional Education Laboratory (REL) Northeast and Islands and described in the Issues & Answers report, "Piloting a searchable database of dropout prevention programs in nine low-income urban school districts in the…

Presents findings of a 5-year study of U.S. educational finance. Analyzes spending patterns across 50 states and examines staffing patterns and expenditures across curriculum areas in California, Florida, and New York. Although this century has seen a major investment in public education, funding has been distributed unfairly and used…

REPORTED ARE 338 NEW PROGRAMS AND OUTSTANDING PRACTICES IN SCHOOL DISTRICTS IN WESTERN NEW YORK. THE BRIEF REPORTS ARE PRESENTED UNDER THE RUBRICS OF ADMINISTRATION, TEACHER UTILIZATION, ELEMENTARY EDUCATION, SECONDARY EDUCATION, PROGRAMS AT BOTH LEVELS, AND SPECIAL EDUCATION. IT IS POINTED OUT THAT THREE-QUARTERS OF THE PROGRAMS ARE FEDERALLY…

Web site usability concerns anyone with a Web site to maintain. Libraries, however, are often the biggest offenders in terms of usability. In our efforts to provide users with everything they need for research, we often overwhelm them with sites that are confusing in structure, difficult to navigate, and weighed down with jargon. Dowling College…

Developed by the New York State Education Department at the University of the State of New York, the document presents preliminary study findings which recommend the removal of the current definition of "a handicapped child" and categorical labels such as "neurologically impaired". Modifications are suggested which strengthen…

This research was to determine the relationship between New York State Cooperative Extension 4-H Division Leaders' propensity toward delegation of work responsibility and (1) their degree of involvement in the performance of leader identification and selection tasks, (2) assignment of major responsibility for these tasks, and (3) other selected…

The logic and methodology applied in a management science approach to performance and staff utilization in the Client Benefits (CBA) and Community Service (CSA) divisions of the Suffolk County (New York) Department of Social Services (SCDSS) are described. Using a blend of classical organization theory and management science techniques, the CBA…

ORIGINALLY CONCERNED WITH THE EARLY DETECTION AND PREVENTION OF JUVENILE DELINQUENCY IN A DEPRESSED NEIGHBORHOOD, THIS COMMUNITY ACTION PROGRAM CHANGED ITS FOCUS IN 1961 TO STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD TO DEAL WITH ITS OWN PROBLEMS. DURING THE FIRST YEAR, PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT WAS IMPEDED BY STAFF TURNOVER AND RESISTANCE TO THE…

The final report on the 1967-68 design phase of the Elementary Teacher Education Development Program analyzes 71 unfunded proposals for teacher education models. (See ED 018 677 for funded models.) The report emphasizes the innovative and unique elements of the proposals, first through illustrating with proposal excerpts the nine required program…

THIS REPORT TO THE NEW YORK LEGISLATURE DESCRIBES SEVERAL EXTENDED SCHOOL YEAR DESIGNS WHICH HAVE BEEN CREATED TO HELP ATTAIN THE GOALS OF ECONOMY AND INCREASED EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY--(1) THE CONTINUOUS PROGRESS DESIGN, (2) THE MODIFIED SUMMER SCHOOL, (3) THE TRIMESTER DESIGN, (4) THE QUADRIMESTER DESIGN, (5) THE EXTENDED K TO 12 PLAN, AND (6)…