The current educational reform agenda requires that stakeholders in the school community help all students graduate. The U.S. Department of Education's "A Blueprint for Reform: Reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act" sends all stakeholders a clear message to take action that results in every student completing high school…

Over the past decade, there has been an increased emphasis on transition planning for students with exceptional needs. This is in part the result of the mandates contained in the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004. This increased emphasis has revealed a number of shortcomings with how transition planning is done…

In 2005, the state of South Carolina enacted the Education and Economic Development Act (EEDA), commonly known as the Personal Pathways to Success, to improve student achievement, graduation rates, and preparation for postsecondary education and the workforce. One of the timely aspects of this legislation is the prominent role that school…

This document contains the Phase III report from the "What Works in Oklahoma Schools" study. As opposed to describing the findings from the study that was conducted, it provides a tool-kit that can be used by Oklahoma principals and teachers to determine the best courses of action for their schools and classrooms. The tools provided in…

This is the Phase I report for a needs assessment and accompanying study sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education which was conducted during the 2010 calendar year. This report seeks to determine the importance of nine essential elements to being classified as a school in need of improvement. 61 schools are involved in this study…

This report explores the infrastructure problem at the district level. Then a prototype is offered to stimulate discussion of changes that are essential to the development of a comprehensive system of learning supports at every school. The report also briefly highlights infrastructure frameworks for schools and school complexes formulated and…

In response to public concern, the Utah Comprehensive Guidance Program Model was developed with guidance as a full-fledged education program. Adoption of the model in middle/junior high schools and high schools, and the relationship of training in the model and state funding are discussed in the "Introduction." The situation prior to…

School counselor supervision, evaluation, and professional development are critical to the successful implementation of a school guidance program. This discussion contributes to understanding the benefits and necessity of an appraisal system for counselors that is aligned with the comprehensive guidance program model. This document describes the…

School counselors' job descriptions leave room for many unexpected and unplanned activities. The Montgomery County Public Schools in Maryland chose to address the challenge of counselors being assigned non-guidance tasks with a combination of approaches. Data collection, development of a transdisciplinary service provision model, revision of the…

Results-based evaluation and assessment of guidance and counseling is a difficult task. How to best evaluate whether the comprehensive guidance program was getting the intended results became an issue for Omaha Public Schools. They set about to draft a framework for measuring student behavior or learning resulting from activities associated with…

This document presents a model used by the Davis School District (Utah) to revise their comprehensive guidance program. The model addresses the four primary purposes of education (essential learning skills, civic responsibility, career preparation, and personal development). Counselors collaborate with individual students and their parents to form…

In the late 1990s the Texas Education Agency advocated the transformation of all counseling services into developmental guidance programs. This document describes the process undertaken and the lessons learned when evaluating a small, rural school district in north Texas in order to begin this model transformation. The purpose of the study was to…

Designed for use by counselors, guidance directors, school administrators, school board members, and anyone interested in the improvement of school guidance programs, this resource book provides a collection of over 100 guidance program models and individual guidance practices. The format consists of references (bibliographic information with…

Elementary and junior high schools in Community School District 18 in Brooklyn, New York, participated in a project to develop and implement a comprehensive system of guidance, counseling, and curriculum. The following major activities were accomplished: (1) research and review of existing programs and materials; (2) design of a comprehensive…