This report explains how State Entity (SE) Program grantees are using or proposed to use the technical assistance (TA) set-aside portion of their Charter School Programs (CSP) funds for these activities. This report also describes SE activities to ensure subgrantees are equipped to meet the needs of all students, and specifically students with…

The federal role in higher education has grown over the past two decades, and now a new administration has the opportunity to strengthen policies that support students and their colleges and universities. To help inform these decisions, the Urban Institute convened a bipartisan group of scholars and policy advisers to write a series of memos…

As peer reviewers for the U.S. Department of Education begin to comb through the thousands of pages of applications for $4 billion in federal Race to the Top Fund grants, they'll be under pressure to determine which are most worthy of funding: those that promise the most, or those with the best chance of delivering. In a competition whose criteria…

Teachers' unions in at least two states are threatening to withhold endorsements of their states' Race to the Top applications, which could jeopardize the states' chances of winning the coveted federal dollars. In a letter printed as an advertisement in the Tallahassee Democrat, Florida Education Association President Andy J. Ford discouraged…

Bright Futures is a Florida-state-funded scholarship program that pays either 75% or 100%, depending on the scholarship level, for up to 132 credits hours in a 120-credit-hour program. Prepaid plans are purchased for a student prior to their attending college, and usually when the future college student is a young child. The plans guarantee the…

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides several funding opportunities that can assist states in designing, developing, and implementing statewide education longitudinal data systems. These new and enhanced information systems will enable states to track student progress within and across the secondary and postsecondary education…

This collection of materials examines and advocates the role of the humanities in society. First, the importance of advocacy in explaining the significance of the humanities is underscored, and the purpose and content of the collection are outlined. Next, the mission of the humanities in helping people understand their options and develop their…

Project HAND-UP (Helping Adolescents Needing Direction-Unlimited Partnership) was a 2-year program to enhance dropout prevention services to at-risk youth by establishing a closer linkage between Job Training Partnership (JTPA)-Ohio and the Ohio Department of Education's Occupational Work Adjustment (OWA) programs. The project's major activities…

This yearbook includes 17 papers organized into 3 sections devoted to the concepts that leadership begins with people, requires action, and must be purposeful. The following articles are included: "Personal Skill Development" (Van Huss); "Leadership Profiles" (Fry, Hibler); "Leadership: From the Classroom to the Boardroom" (Felton); "Planting the…