In an organizationally competent school, everyone has a role that defines his or her obligations and everyone is part of a reciprocal relationship that spells out mutual obligations. Reciprocal role relationships enable informal communities of practice to bubble up and institutionalized collaborative cultures to trickle down. When such informal…

When Palmdale School District and Pivot Learning Partners entered into their first contract in 2006, neither organization foresaw the magnitude and complexity the relationship would take over time. Pivot Learning Partners (formerly known as Springboard Schools) is a non-profit service provider that first entered the Palmdale School District…

Given the abundance of open education initiatives that aim to make educational assets freely available online, the time seems ripe to explore the potential of open education to transform the economics and ecology of education. Despite the diversity of tools and resources already available--from well-packaged course materials to simple games, for…

In January 2005, the American Museum of Natural History (AMNH) was awarded a three-year ITEST grant (Innovative Technology Experiences for Students and Teachers) through the National Science Foundation (award #04-23417). This "AMNH-ITEST High School Science Research Program" aimed to target 120 urban high school youth, grades 10-12, from…

The "Setting the scene" deliverable of the QMPP project (www.qmpp.net) has been authored by Mr. Ari-Matti Auvinen (HCI Productions Oy) and many QMPP project partners. In addition to the definition of the scope of the project, it includes also a good list of references to the literature of user-generated content as well as good web links…

The University of Chicago's Joseph Regenstein Library Bookstacks Department has used process mapping and continuous improvement to successfully improve its overall operations. The most recent efforts focus on Lean manufacturing, an initiative centered on eliminating waste in manufacturing processes. The conversion of the Bookstacks Department from…

The Advanced Distributed Learning (ADL) initiative was undertaken to make education, training, and lifelong learning accessible at any time, anywhere. It has developed specifications and techniques that are being adopted globally by governments, businesses, and schools. Although ADL currently focuses on government and business applications, it has…

Focusing on state and local efforts to reduce underage drinking, this report is a product of a joint project of the National Association of Governors' Highway Safety Representatives (NAGHSR) and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD). Part of the project included a survey of the memberships of both NAGHSR and…

This book provides teachers and program administrators with information and guidelines to develop effective school programs for immigrant students with limited prior schooling. The limited information about these students is summarized, with in-depth information about the lives, backgrounds, aspirations, educational experiences, and needs of five…

The Arizona Department of Economic Security Ex-Offender Program is designed to assist clients with multiple severe employment barriers. A fictional case study outlines the problems of a typical client and traces the work of the Ex-Offender Program from the client's incarceration until after his release. (Author)

Using two cases as the basis of exploration, this article discusses (1) the impact of pregnancy during adolescence on the development of the young girl and her offspring and (2) the influences of her extended family. It also explores the concept of adolescent/infant development as a means of providing comprehensive services to pregnant…

Individual summaries of each of the 76 Illinois school districts with state-funded transitional bilingual education programs are presented. Each summary provides information on the number of students, language groups served, funding, grades served, staffing, number of school buildings, number of students in each language proficiency category,…

Six school district case studies are contained in this appendix to the report of a project that studied the relationships between processes and outcomes of the implementation of career education programs in six diverse school districts located throughout the country. Each case study gives background information on the local education agency prior…

This guide discusses the results of a national survey of school administrators who were asked to rank from a list of 13 problems the top problems facing their schools today. Their responses, which are discussed in this report, include how to cut costs in areas like salaries, fringe benefits, and energy; how to better manage their schools and set…

One of a series of documents on the evaluation of the National Home Start (NHS) program this third year interim report of case studies describes program efforts and successes with 16 Home Start families throughout the nation. A federally funded demonstration program, NHS is aimed at providing home-based services (such as health, education,…