Oakland International High School, winner of the 2017 National Community School Award, supports its recently arrived immigrant students by integrating academic, social, mental health, and material supports into the school day and beyond. Its community school model incorporates a Wellness Center, a tiered system of support and engagement, external…

With a rising demand for a college degree and an increasingly complicated college search, application, and selection process, there are a number of interventions designed to ease the college-going process for adolescents and their families. One such intervention, the College Ambition Program (CAP), is specifically designed to be a whole-school…

The research is clear on the importance of student connectedness to school. Adolescents who feel connected to school and perceive the adults there to be caring are more likely to be academically and socially engaged. Middle school is a critical time for students to feel connected to school, but these grade levels present greater challenges to…

In 2004, Kuss Middle School became the first school declared "Chronically Underperforming" by the state of Massachusetts. But by 2010, Kuss had transformed itself into a model for schools around the country seeking a comprehensive turnaround strategy. Kuss is using increased learning time as the primary catalyst to accelerate learning,…

This final article addresses the need to create further evidence that the integration of student support and afterschool programming enhances student learning and thriving inside and outside schools. Many models are being put forward to address student support, but research findings on their effectiveness have been surprisingly mixed and designs…

This article describes the application of the Research and Development in Organisations (RADIO) model to five action research projects carried out in schools around transition processes. The RADIO model is mapped onto all five studies, and adapting the model in order to include greater stakeholder participation is suggested. Reflections are made…

The growing number of immigrant students in the United States continues to affect school programs. First, the author describes the issues that challenge immigrant students, including varying levels of language and academic performance, funding and school resources, and flexibility and accountability. Then, the author discuss what school leaders…

School counselors acknowledge the need for supervision but rarely receive it. This article describes the counselor performance improvement system in one school district. Supervision is embedded in a process that assesses counselors' levels of professionalism on a matrix of competence and commitment. Administrative and clinical supervisors…

This book is a product of a research effort to identify exemplary elementary school guidance and counseling programs and practices across the United States. It consists of program descriptions from 134 programs in 40 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Section 1 gives the background of how programs were identified and selected.…

This booklet for pupil personnel services (PPS) professionals describes five selected exemplary PPS district programs in Illinois (Bloomington District 87, Dundee Community Unit School District 300, Lake Park Community School District 108, Lyons Township High School District 204, and Warren Township High School District 121) as well as the…

This manual describes "Check and Connect," a procedure to prevent high risk secondary students from dropping out of school. The purpose of the "check" component is to assess the extent to which students are engaged in school and signs of school withdrawal. The purpose of the "connect" component is to respond on a regular basis to students'…

Over a two-year period Hinsdale South High School (Chicago, Illinois) has successfully mainstreamed 59 hearing impaired students into such courses as English, mathematics, science, physical education, and business education. Program components include admission criteria, a Coordinator of Mainstreamed Support Services, counseling, interpreters,…

This report describes the background and results of a project to establish a school-based job placement service in the Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School in Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania. The center's activities, based on a previously-developed model, included these components: (1) Cooperative job development with the Bureau of…

This annual report on vocational-technical education in Idaho is organized around five goals for the system that are part of a 5-year strategic plan. The report highlights exemplary programs, support groups, and student organizations that provide high quality educational experiences to the students they serve. The following goal-directed…

The final report summarizes activities of a 3-year project which accomplished the following goals: (1) identification of the most pressing concerns in special education currently facing state and local education policymakers; (2) location of research information through the U.S. Department of Education and other sources which address these issues;…