This toolkit contains practical resources to introduce charter support organizations (CSOs) to the benefits and advantages that leading federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) activities can bring to their state. With a practical set of tools to assist CSOs with CSP engagement, this toolkit focuses on the CSP grants to state entities, which enables…

This guide is addressed to policy officials, program providers, and researchers who are seeking to: (1) identify and implement social programs backed by valid evidence of effectiveness; or (2) sponsor or conduct an evaluation to determine whether a program is effective. The guide provides a brief overview of which studies can produce valid…

The Center for Community College Student Engagement encourages colleges to hold focus groups with part-time and full-time faculty to learn about differences in the faculty and their experience at their college and to complement survey data. Survey responses tell the "what" about faculty's experiences; through conducting focus groups,…

"Mentoring Immigrant Youth: A Toolkit for Program Coordinators" is a comprehensive resource that is designed to offer program staff important background information, promising program practices and strategies to build and sustain high-quality mentoring relationships for different categories of immigrant youth. Included in this resource are five…

Difficulties in paying for college and in maintaining good academic performance are two major hurdles to college graduation for low-income students. In recent years, state and federal budgets for postsecondary education have been cut significantly, limiting the options policymakers, education leaders, and communities have to improve rates of…

If you are looking for an organic approach to purpose-driven professional learning, this is the book for you. Award-winning educator Lois Brown Easton's latest work provides a compelling case study in narrative form, a chronological PLC planning outline, and first-hand "lessons learned" about how PLCs develop, mature, and sustain themselves. You…

Commissioner's Rules Concerning the State Plan for Educating English Language Learners (ELLs) states that all school districts that are required to provide bilingual education and/or English as a second language (ESL) programs establish and operate a Language Proficiency Assessment Committee (LPAC). The LPACs are charged with reviewing all…

TIMSS measures trends in mathematics and science achievement at the fourth and eighth grades in participating countries around the world, while also monitoring curricular implementation and identifying promising instructional practices. Conducted on a regular 4-year cycle, TIMSS has assessed mathematics and science in 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, and…

When social workers draw on experience, theory, or data in order to develop new strategies or enhance existing ones, they are conducting intervention research. This relatively new field involves program design, implementation, and evaluation and requires a theory-based, systematic approach. "Intervention Research" presents such a…

As part of its work to advance the multiple pathways approach to high school education, the James Irvine Foundation engaged the Bridgespan Group to develop a framework for assessing the nature and needs of the fields in which nonprofits operate. These agents of change often struggle to understand how to focus their field-building investments and…

Using legislative history in an evaluation is seen as an audit activity seeking to hold the program(s) to the intent of the legislators. Five major sources for legislative history, seven acceptable sources of information, and a five-step guide for developing a legislative history are presented. (Author/PN)

This guide focuses on the major tasks involved in organizing, planning, and implementing a permanent planning program for foster care. Phase I is concerned with how to organize administrative support for the program so that program planning and implementation can proceed. It also discusses how to overcome some possible hurdles in working to gain…

Local advisory councils are established for the purpose of advising local educational officials on current job needs and the relevance of courses being offered by their educational agency and to assist local division administrators in the development of the annual vocational plan. This guide presents a systematic approach to the organization and…

This document is designed to present a process for reviewing, evaluating, and revising a mathematics program at the building or district level. It is organized into the following sections: 1) Philosophy and Rationale, addressing the global reasons for including mathematics in the total program; 2) Expected Outcomes, outlining expectations at the…

This guide to interactive training provides tools and techniques to stimulate the trainer's imagination to provide enriching, engaging training and an energizing learning experience. An introduction describes a REST Stop: give time to Reflect on the concept, Expand the content and Extract ideas with the intent of Stimulating imaginative Thinking.…