This chapter describes the concurrent reforms occurring in North Carolina--both campus-level changes focused on such issues as developing structured programs of study and state-level reforms aimed at supporting the campus efforts.

Children born since the early 1990s have never known a world in which computer and information technologies are not essential to every aspect of their lives. However, far too many young people, especially low-income and minority youth, lack opportunities to learn about the impact of computer and information technologies on their lives and become…

The espoused foundation of U.S. society, "E pluribus unum" (out of many, one), is based on the belief that this nation should simultaneously support pluralism and promote unity. The road to making this ideal a reality, however, has not always been smooth. The ever-widening achievement gap highlights how this discordance plays out in our…

Civic learning for all students seems like a reasonable and important aim for all schools to achieve. If we believe that the future of our American democracy depends on a citizenry that is informed, engaged, and responsible, what better place to create future citizens than in schools? The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools…

This article reviews the historical context in which Canadian legislation and policy for children with special needs has evolved. The potential for the rights of students with special needs in light of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms is outlined. The role of the Federal and Provincial governments in legislation and policy vis-à-vis…

This article describes how Wayne State University's TechTown is helping revive Detroit's hard-hit economy. TechTown got its start when then-Wayne State President Irvin Reid and a small group of business leaders in the city and state officials decided Detroit needed to embrace the business incubator idea that had been so successful in other regions…

Educational reform in the United States is perpetually evolving. Much of the recent reforms have concentrated on high-stakes testing and assessment, but a parallel effort has been emerging in the field of vocational and career education. Prompted partly by federal legislation--most recently by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act…

Background/Context: This study examines the extent of reform in preparation programs in school leadership in six states employing a comprehensive, whole-state intervention design. Although no studies of these or other comprehensive reform designs are available, there is a rich context surrounding preparation reform work that informed our…

In 1988, when a Maine test failed to measure educational accountability in Vermont, portfolios constituted the bottom-up response to needed reform. In 1990, Kentucky's Educational Reform Act mandated assessment by performance-based tasks, including portfolios. Both states feature scoring criteria (rubrics) based on four performance levels and…

Maryland is the first state to require every student to perform service as a condition of receiving a high school diploma. In Baltimore, once electives became mandatory, a new coordinator for service learning was appointed, a service-learning program--the Baltimore Alliance for Student Service--was established, and a revised five-year…

The National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, influential in middle-grades policy, advocates a three tiered approach envisioning high-performing schools as academically rigorous, developmentally responsive, and socially equitable. This report discusses pioneering programs, critics' concerns, exemplary Michigan programs, and urban schools'…

Claims that increasingly, decisions about whether or how resources will be allocated to young children and families will be made at the state level. Explores the questions answered by the policy document, "Map and Track: State Initiatives for Young Children and Families," and the significance of these questions. Highlights findings and…

Schools can no longer act alone as surrogate parents. First appearing in Florida's innovative legislation, the full-service school concept is catching on in several other states. Full-service schools integrate education, medical, social, and/or human services to meet families' needs in easily accessible locations. Primary health centers are key…

Since 1990, over 40 Illinois and Massachusetts school districts have built capacity for sustained improvement through vertically structured, district-level Learning Leadership Teams. Originated by Motorola executives, LLT was based on an understanding of organizational change derived from the National Science Foundation's definition of systemic…

Describes the Florida Born To Read (BTR) program, a statewide early literacy program that has grown from 10 Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funded pilot projects in 1998-99 to include LSTA and locally funded programs in more than one-third of Florida's 67 counties in 2001-02. Sidebars list topics and presenters at BTR Capacity Building…