Strategic communications is important for building awareness, engagement, and commitment for serving children and youth. When this communication is bidirectional, it also creates avenues for state education agency (SEA) leaders to receive timely, honest feedback from stakeholders about the effectiveness of whole-person initiatives. This guide is…

The issue of freedom of speech on college and university campuses has captured the interest of the nation and attracted considerable media attention. As board members and institutional leaders address the difficult questions that arise in relation to this controversial issue, they need to balance the competing tensions between individual freedom…

While academic interventions can be implemented in any grade, focusing on interventions in high school is critical because it is often a student's last chance to become ready for the academic demands of postsecondary education and careers. States across the country are implementing large-scale initiatives focused on delivering academic…

Teacher evaluation has emerged as a key strategy for improving student outcomes in public education. The rationale is compelling: teachers vary widely in their effectiveness, and evaluation systems need to identify and address this variation. Performance evaluations have historically been largely perfunctory: no meaningful feedback is provided, no…

While literacy interventions can be implemented in any grade, focusing on interventions in grades 3-8 is critical because it is often the best chance for students identified with earlier reading deficiencies to become ready for the literacy demands of postsecondary education and careers. States in both the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL)…

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…

States are in various stages of reforming how they evaluate their educators, all striving for a new system that can assess a range of abilities and practices over long periods of time and capture the full nature of an educator's performance. The strongest systems look at teaching in a more comprehensive way than evaluations have done in the past,…

Discusses the important features of a successful public relations internship program. Considers the academic preparation, the academic structure, and the administrative procedures necessary for deploying a successful internship program. (HB)

Presents a theoretical model of internal-external communications and an example of an implementation procedure based on that model. (Author/IRT)

Focused on the practical tools that education leaders can use to improve communications with their own colleagues, with parents, and with the general public, this guide can be used by school districts and states to organize their communication efforts strategically to build public support. The guide includes step-by-step information to develop a…

It is argued that the failure of change in teacher education results from lack of understanding of the dynamics of change and the organizational features of teacher education, generally subject to external pressure. The role of institutional dimensions of problem solving, decision making, communications, goals, climate, and implementation are…

Focuses on critical factors for success for organizations planning to use upward feedback systems to drive organizational change. Highlights include assessment of organizational readiness, use of an appropriate feedback instrument, consistent implementation, effective communication and training, quality control, and continuous improvement.…

Developed for use by state vocational personnel, this integrated planning package contains five sections describing activities that combine to form a unified system for effective planning of vocational programs for American Indian populations. The first section introduces the package, overviews the other sections, discusses state agency…

While curriculum development can be difficult, implementation of changes can be equally problematic. However, implementation of a new program offers many opportunities for campus renewal and curriculum development, reevaluation of academic and administrative practices, and enhancement of community and institutional relationships. (MSE)

This manual contains information needed for conducting local chapters of the Wisconsin Junior Dairymen's Association program. Included in the manual is a summary of the year's program of work, lists of previous award winners, and rules for the many contests held annually by the association. Blank forms are provided for contest entry, association…