"We wish we had that option in our area." "Wish we lived closer." "I wish I would have known." These statements, made by parents of children who are deaf and hard of hearing, illustrate a frustrating reality for many families--a lack of access to qualified professionals and specialized services to help children with…

Public funding for employment and training has dwindled over the past several decades. Yet in communities all over the United States, there has been considerable development of alternative approaches to help low-income people gain skills for particular industry sectors. In 2003, with support from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, Public/Private…

Describing a student historical trip with an environmental perspective, this article evaluates program objectives (evaluation of lifestyles, living in close proximity to the natural environment, comparison of natural and man-made landscapes, development of a sense of community identity, decision making skills for environmental management, and…

The Wisconsin Workplace Partnership Literacy (WPL) Program provided job-specific basic skills education to employees at 11 worksites. A total of 1,441 employees were recruited to participate in on-site competency-based educational activities to upgrade their basic skills sufficiently for job retention or advancement. Participants were encouraged…

This booklet will help educators review, develop, and improve fundamental components of K-12 social studies programs. It is designed as a planning and implementation guide for social studies in Wisconsin. First, ways are suggested in which educators can define the purpose of their social studies programs and decide how to balance skills and…

This paper describes and evaluates an alternate day-full day kindergarten program. Through the use of Cognitive Abilities Test (CAT) scores and surveys, two kindergarten groups were compared. One group attended school for a half-day daily; the other attended all day on alternate days, but for a comparable length of time. A summary of survey…

This report covers the materials used in and resulting from the second year of a three-year Rural Family Development (RFD) project in Wisconsin. The materials are presented in several parts. The areas covered are (1) the use of television, (2) methods, (3) field services, (4) project evaluation, (5) the RFD in the context of a mediated delivery…

A series of worksheets, evaluation forms, readings, and activities is presented to aid in the review, development, and improvement of the K-12 social studies program. The guide begins with a brief overview on program improvement, followed by methods for reviewing the present social studies program. Checksheets, charts, and outlines are provided…

The 3-year Citizen Leadership Program was designed to develop citizen-directed planning in Wisconsin. The first year focused on citizen involvement in land use planning; the second year, on community goal setting; and the third year, on community development projects. A representative group of 30 citizens participated in the program's workshops…