The policy landscape around curriculum selection and implementation is thorny: the federal government cannot mandate any state or local curricula, state policy varies widely, and local schools and districts often lack the capacity to support and sustain detailed reviews of materials and ongoing teacher training in quality curricula. Cultural and…

State education leaders and entities play vital, if not always highly visible, roles in establishing high-quality professional learning. Through legislation and regulations, resource allocation, leadership support, and more, they establish a vision of professional learning and support its implementation in districts and schools. In particular,…

This approach article describes the structure of the new Composition and Speech Program at Delaware State University, particularly in light of the use of discourse-based interview (DBI) methodology in the development process of the program. The program includes a 4-course sequence--three 2-credit hour composition courses and one 3-credit hour…

Successful implementation of a Residential Curriculum Model is dependent on the preparedness and investment of professional staff to design the learning experiences taking place in residence halls. Recent literature urges student affairs educators to embrace approaches which contribute to student learning beyond the classroom. This concept has…

It is notoriously difficult to change a core curriculum. As credit hours and course requirements are revised, politics quickly come into play and turf battles arise to create obstacles. The author writes that, in her experience, there are two default approaches to curricular change. The first is simply to "tweak" an existing…

The purpose of this report is to provide insight into how state departments are implementing legislative requirements for educator evaluation, particularly the specific circumstances states encounter around arts education. Spotlights on Delaware, a first-round recipient of Race to the Top funding, and Colorado and Arizona, third-round recipients,…

In a university lab preschool, teachers initiated a curriculum development approach using child-centered webbing. The authors look at problems early childhood education students encountered in implementing the approach at the school, including incorporating early learning standards into the planning while keeping the focus on the child. The…

When Stephanie Smith became the principal of Seaford (Delaware) Middle School four years ago, she was told to accept the fact that the school would never be able to change its status as a school that needed to improve. She did not accept that. To improve performance levels, she set the expectations high. Her defiance paid off: the school is now…

The University of Delaware spent years refining its residence-life education program. One week of public criticism unraveled it. Late last month, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education, a free-speech group, accused the university of promoting specific views on race, sexuality, and morality in a series of discussions held in dormitories.…

Water quality is a critical environmental, social, and political issue in Delaware. In the late 1990s, a series of events related to water quality issues led to the passage of a state nutrient management law. This new law required nutrient management planning and established a state certification program for nutrient users in the agricultural and…

This monograph presents an overview of five Del Mod System final reports, comments by the project director, financial structure of the Del Mod System, and descriptions of Del Mod Projects. The Del Mod System was concerned with changing the science and mathematics education programs in the state of Delaware. Between 1970 and 1976, Del Mod conducted…

The Delaware FIRST Program is designed to meet the needs of handicapped infants and toddlers through trained family day care providers. The program is based on a developmental family systems approach. It strives to provide families with ongoing support by offering mainstreamed family day care or respite care, by developing and/or facilitating an…

This is one of five volumes prepared to describe various aspects of the Del Mod System. This volume deals with the evaluation of the Del Mod System. Included are the following: (1) Del Mod Responsive Evaluation; (2) Evaluation Outcomes; (3) Validation of the Del Mod Responsive Evaluation Process; and (4) Conclusions. Appendices include: (A)…

This report describes the creation, funding, promotion, and evaluation of the three resource centers and the instrument repair center of the Del Mod System. Included in the document are descriptions of the three science-mathematics resource centers at the University of Delaware, Delaware State College, and Delaware Technical and Community College.…

This monograph describes the field agent of the Delaware Del Mod System. The following sections are included in the report: (1) The Duties and Activities of the Del Mod System Field Agents; (2) The Field Agents' Mode of Operation; (3) The Conduct of Projects; (4) The Hiring and Training of Del Mod Field Agents; (5) The Administration of Del Mod…