To prepare high school graduates with visual impairments for college, staff members at Perkins School for the Blind developed a nine month residential program, College Success@Perkins. This article describes components of the program design and provides data on eight students who successfully completed the program in the first cohort. It concludes…

The U.S. Department of Education's Policy to Performance project was funded in 2009 to build the capacity of state adult basic education (ABE) staff to develop and implement policies and practices that would support an ABE transition system. Policy to Performance states were selected though a competitive process. State adult education directors…

The Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 ("Fostering Connections Act") fundamentally changed the nature of federal support for young people in state care by extending entitlement funding under Title IV-E of the Social Security Act to age 21 beginning in FY2011. While the Fostering Connections Act provides…

Almost 7 million young Americans (age 16-24) are insufficiently attached to school or work. Based on conservative estimates, we can generate over $1 billion just by helping a mere 0.1 percent earn a high school credential and complete their first year of college through Back on Track Designs. This brief lays out the cost of setting up these GED-…

The Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) is a special entity within the National League of Cities (NLC). The YEF Institute helps municipal leaders take action on behalf of the children, youth, and families in their communities. The YEF Institute's first-ever report on The State of City Leadership for Children and Families…

This article, part of a yearlong series, focuses on the fifth recommendation in ACTE's postsecondary reform position statement which is to enhance student advising and academic and life supports. The availability of effective student supports can play a critical role in student enrollment, persistence and completion of postsecondary credentials.…

Family members are a child's first and most important teachers. A growing body of research demonstrates that when families are actively engaged in their child's learning, children are better prepared for school and achieve at higher levels. Increased participation by families in pre-kindergarten programs has also been linked to greater academic…

This article reviews U.S. federal legislation mandating collaborative transition planning between schools and adult service providers. The Collaborative Transition Model, a six-stage interdisciplinary approach which relates vocational assessment activities to instruction, is offered as one example of a formal transition system being implemented in…

This state improvement plan outlines goals and objectives for improving special education services to students with disabilities in Wisconsin. The first goal (students with disabilities will demonstrate skills which will engage them to become independent, productive, and included citizens in society) contains objectives that address graduation…

Millions of school children are currently at risk of academic failure; the potential costs to society are staggering. If the central factors causing a child's poor social adjustment can be addressed, both the rate of school failure and social service costs can be reduced. Attempting to control the school failure issue, the Wisconsin State…

Several schools that eschewed the middle school model and remained K-8 discovered anecdotally that their students showed fewer behavioral problems and higher academic achievement than many students enrolled in middle schools. On the basis of studies that verified these observations, school district leaders in Milwaukee, Baltimore, and Philadelphia…

Describes an interdisciplinary transition model currently used in rural Wisconsin for special needs students that links vocational assessment, Individualized Education Plan development, program placement, instructional support, exit transition conferences, and postschool followup. Stresses collaboration among students, parents, educators, and…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) School-Based Coaching: A Revolution in Professional Development--or Just the Latest Fad? (Alexander Russo); (2) Fluency Tests Help Identify Struggling…

This paper describes the Community Transition Center (CTC) model, being tested in six districts in rural Wisconsin. The model is a way of conceptualizing and organizing the employment-related needs of mainstreamed mildly handicapped youths who are exiting secondary schools. The model emphasizes the role of secondary school transition programming,…

This executive summary of Wisconsin's 5-year state improvement plan outlines goals and objectives for improving special education services to students with disabilities and progress toward these objectives in Year 2. The first goal (students with disabilities will demonstrate skills that will engage them to become independent, productive, and…