Presents a framework for creating competency-based models, including an analysis of the utility of national competency banks. Presents a checklist that institutional researchers can use during and after the implementation phase to guide institutional success. Concludes with a bibliography of selected Internet-based resources in the area of…

Communities of Practice offer state agency personnel a promising approach for engaging stakeholder groups in collaboratively solving complex and, often, persistent problems in special education. Communities of Practice can help state agency personnel drive strategy, solve problems, promote the spread of best practices, develop members'…

The "School Administrator's Guide to Implementing Language Programming" serves as a starting point to plan for and implement language programming. It provides a general overview; suggests practical strategies for working with students, parents, teachers and the surrounding community; and includes details on areas to address in selecting…

This book describes how the principles of quality can be applied to education. Based on the work of W. Edwards Deming and Joseph M. Juran, the book outlines a systematic and practical approach to implementing quality in educational settings. It also describes how to encourage staff participation in quality initiatives. Total-quality schools are…

This guide was developed to help new literacy practitioners in Ontario, Canada, become familiar with designing, developing, and delivering literacy programs in the community. The guide is organized in 10 sections according to subject area. The three sections of part 1 deal with the developmental stages of planning, designing, and launching a…

Because many schools face the difficult task of training teachers to use the Internet, this paper provides guidelines for planning and implementing an Internet training program for teachers. The first issue that must be addressed is defining goals and objectives by assessing the needs of the network users. Next, the various methods of Internet…

This three-part guide presents information and recommendations from the Massachusetts Professional Development School Network Steering Committee on how to develop a professional development school (PDS) partnership. Part 1 defines the PDS concept, presents a brief background account of its evolution, and discusses its potential for simultaneously…

Information is presented to help individuals and groups translate their concerns about youth into concrete, constructive action in the community. At the heart of the guide is a step-by-step process for action. The first section deals with taking individual action, exploring ways that the individual can make a difference. The second part of the…

Young people can be, and must be, partners in community drug prevention efforts. This book discusses teen successes in drug prevention, telling how and where it is happening and how to make it happen in the community. Teens are shown forging vital partnerships with schools, law enforcement, community agencies, and others. The focus is on…

This book was designed to share lessons learned from vocational rehabilitation research conducted at 11 Rehabilitation Research and Training Centers. Papers for the book were developed to provide practical guidance to the common efforts of professionals, advocates, consumers, and public figures interested in creating workable rehabilitation…

"Jobs Rally" is a community event that can be coordinated by a human service program or institution to help communities become more responsive to the independent living and career development needs of people with severe disabilities. This manual outlines how to conduct a jobs rally. The manual begins with a very brief four-step community…

This guide explains the benefits and use of Ohio's career passport, which is designed to serve as a standard statewide vocational credential that represents individuals as completers of secondary or adult vocational programs and that is transferable across the state regardless of where a vocational completer received training. Discussed in section…

This document is designed to help local practitioners construct new tech prep systems that bridge the federal Tech Prep Education Act with the new School-to-Work Opportunities legislation. Section I provides a historical and philosophical foundation for new systems. It describes the movement's roots, legislation, and local, state, and federal…

Federal regulations have set forth specific performance standards for the provision of services for children with disabilities in Head Start programs. These regulations provide state and local education agencies and Head Start grantees with unique opportunities to collaborate to provide comprehensive, family-centered, and appropriate services to…

This manual has grown out of a multiyear statewide effort to institutionalize gender equity in a variety of educational settings. It presents a step-by-step process model for creating a climate for change that can be applied to educational innovations in general as well as change for gender equity. The following model components are explored: (1)…