Developing excellent principals who can set direction, develop people, redesign organizations, and lead instruction requires a system of high-quality preparation and professional development. This paper summarizes the elements of high-quality principal preparation and professional development programs that have been associated with positive school…

Physical Educators face significant challenges in including students with disabilities. To address this issue, appropriate professional development must be provided. Traditional professional development is limited by barriers such as cost, time, location and availability. The purpose of this randomised experimental design study was to determine…

The study examined the effect of a secondary school teacher training and coaching program on student achievement. Eighty-eight teachers were randomly assigned to either the My Teaching Partner-Secondary (MTP-S) group or the control group. Of these teachers, 76 participated in the study during the intervention year (when they received coaching) and…

Examined the impact of high-quality middle-level teacher preparation programs. Subjects were 2,139 teachers from 5 states. Middle schools with grades six through eight configurations were selected. Results showed that respondents prepared in comprehensive programs, had separate licensure, or who had taken more courses tended to give more favorable…

The "Caring for Infants and Toddlers with Disabilities: New Roles for Physicians" program was designed to ensure that pediatricians and family physicians have the information and skills needed to participate fully in a Virginia statewide system of early intervention. An inservice training model was developed and field tested with…

Peter Senge's (1990) theory of organizational change includes teams that perceive the whole of the organization; grow professionally; navigate short- and long-term organizational experiences through exposed mental models; share a vision; and hear each voice in an ongoing communal learning process. The Margaret Sue Copenhaver Institute for Teaching…

As part of a multiyear research study on the preparation of educators to use assessment data for instructional improvement, the present study is a pilot test of a research-based professional development intervention for career-technical teachers. Forty-eight educators at nine sites in five states participated in a 1-day workshop followed by…

The project "Together We Can" is described in this final report as a program to provide training and technical assistance to improve the quality of life for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with deaf-blindness in Virginia. The plan for the project included services based on recommended effective practices in the areas of early…

In response to the need to train teachers to effectively integrate technology into elementary and secondary education, a teacher professional development program funded by a federal grant provided a selection of instructional technology integration courses to K-12 teachers. This study investigated the impact of these courses on the course…

A study was conducted to determine the most effective procedures being used by agricultural education teachers in conducting young farmer programs in Virginia. A questionnaire containing 111 procedures was developed and administered to 83 young farmer teachers from approximately 80 percent of the Virginia departments with young farmer programs.…

The Appalachian Math Science Partnership (AMSP) is a project within NSF's (National Science Foundation's) Math Science Partnerships (MSP) initiative. Funded at $23 million over five years, the AMSP involved 51 school districts and nine higher education institutions in Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. The AMSP faced two significant challenges in…

Virginia's statewide plan of educator preparation in functional behavioral assessment, as required under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, is described. The step-by-step training process facilitated positive academic and nonacademic outcomes for all students. Preliminary data support the effectiveness of both the content and…

The Virginia State Department of Education funded four, 3-year pilot clinical faculty programs to provide training and compensation to cooperating teachers for the purpose of improving the supervision of student teachers. Two of the programs which received grants were collaborative projects: partners Virginia Tech University and Hollins College…

Virginia has 36 criminal justice training academies, including 10 regional academies. The academies conduct entry-level, inservice, and specialized training for law enforcement officers, jailers, and other criminal justice personnel. In 1998, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC) was directed to review the quality, consistency,…

Lists of project accomplishments and the complete third-party evaluation report constitute the major contents of this final report of a three-year project to assist Bedford County Public Schools (Virginia) in implementation of a model for K-14 career education. Major conclusions reported are these: (1) A comprehensive plan for career development…