A popular alternative disciplinary framework from zero-tolerance school policies is restorative justice, which refers to a set of ideologies and practices that emphasize healing relationships in lieu of community exclusion. This work investigates the differences between ideological support for restorative approaches compared to program…

High schools hold great potential as contexts within which educators implement evidence-based practices shown to change post-school outcomes for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Unfortunately, educators feel unprepared to use transition and disability-focused evidence-based practices. Coaching, as an essential feature of effective…

Fidelity of implementation of school practices is crucial to student outcomes. Several types of tools, including self-assessments, are available for measuring fidelity, but little is known regarding the relation of self-assessments of fidelity to fidelity instruments completed with the support of external experts, specifically, during the first…

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the implementation and impacts of the Building Assets, Reducing Risks (BARR) model in its first year of implementation in 66 schools across the U.S. and to document scale-up progress during the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant period (2017-2021). The impact evaluation included 21,529 9th grade students…

This multi-site case study examined leadership strategies used during successful implementation of standards-based grading systems in three Wisconsin high schools. It found that leaders' reported commitment, patience, and persistence showed evidence of sustainable, high-functioning systems. It drew two main conclusions: first, school leaders need…

California's alternative education options for youth vulnerable to dropping out of school have been established at different historical points and for different student age and target populations. For purposes of this brief, "alternative school" is defined as belonging to one of six legislatively authorized types of public (non-charter)…

This "Stated Briefly" report is a companion piece that summarizes the results of another report of the same name. The purpose of the study conducted by REL Midwest in partnership with the Midwest Virtual Education Research Alliance was to develop and administer a survey to describe online course use in Iowa and Wisconsin brick-and-mortar…

The data from this study details the challenges to implementing comprehensive school counseling programs in Wisconsin high schools. Results suggest that current professional development training practices may be ineffective in assisting high school counselors to implement key components of the ASCA National Model in their schools. This article…

This guide describes the Designated Vocational Instruction (DVI) approach, an interdisciplinary effort of Wisconsin special and vocational educators to improve the scope, sequence, and quality of secondary vocational education for students with disabilities. The essence of the DVI approach is to integrate learners who participate in special…

This publication consists of two parts: an overview of tech prep in Western Wisconsin and the Tech Prep Strategic Plan for Western Wisconsin. The overview combines reduced-size pages (four to a page) with full-size pages that include the following: the definition of tech prep; legislative mandate; rationale; benefits of tech prep; tech prep…

This handbook describes the processes and techniques used to develop, implement, and evaluate four integrated vocational and academic learning programs in Wisconsin that included students from special populations. The handbook contains seven chapters. Chapter 1 presents an overview of the project, including the request for proposal process and…

This document reports on a workshop conducted to bring together vocational, technical, and adult education colleges and the University of Wisconsin-Stout staff members who are working with computer-integrated manufacturing (CIM). Participants discussed current program content, identified areas that need further development, and determined how…

Wisconsin's statewide apprenticeship program is a model school-to-work transition program. In one cooperative endeavor, juniors and seniors work part time at local businesses and attend community college classes two days a week. After testing their community's receptivity, administrators should form a steering committee to target occupational…

To arrive at the key components of a comprehensive school-to-work transition strategy, researchers for the study reported here reviewed the literature in the field of school-to-work transition and also consulted with numerous experts in the field. To determine how many states have adopted the components of comprehensive strategies, the researchers…

This instructional manual presents work experience program coordinators with special methods, competencies, and strategies for organization, implementation, and evaluation. The manual contains 13 sections: (1) assessing program potential; (2) philosophy development; (3) initial organizational steps; (4) student selection process; (5) job…