Grounded in Hoover-Dempsey and Sandler's parent involvement process model, the Realizing the American Dream (RAD) parent education program targets Latino parents' involvement beliefs and knowledge to enhance their involvement behaviors. Comparison of more than 2,000 parents' self-reported beliefs, knowledge, and behavior before and after RAD…

The U.S. Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights (OCR) and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) released joint guidance on January 7, 2015, reminding states, school districts, and schools of their obligations under federal law to ensure that English Learners (ELs) have equal access to a high-quality education and the opportunity to achieve…

Policy makers and educators across the nation are incorporating new standards and assessments into evaluation systems, designed to impact teacher effectiveness and student achievement. New York is one of the states that have developed a teacher evaluation system, now fully implemented in all of its 697 public school districts. As the results from…

This article describes a physical education program self-assessment tool, "The Physical Activity and Fitness Promotion Checklist," which was developed by a panel of nationally recognized physical education teachers. This checklist, which specifically addresses national physical education standards three and four, includes 20 items organized into…

Presents and explains how to use a checklist for helping principals determine the presence of effective elements in their schools' staff development programs. The checklist process involves testing such program factors as school commitment levels, needs assessment components, program development activities, program implementation and evaluation,…

This study evaluated the impact of a program for improving group functioning through reducing the frequency of inappropriate student behavior. Participating were 160 students in grades 3, 7, 10, and 11 from a primary school, a junior high, and 3 high schools. All of the subject schools were in low- to upper-middle class communities located in five…

Noting that after-school programs are a critical link to helping children become successful adults, this kit explains what after-school programs can and should do for young people and how to locate or start an after-school program. The kit provides a rationale for developing after-school programs, noting the number of children with parents working…

Noting that after-school programs are a critical link to helping children become successful adults, this Spanish-language kit explains what after-school programs can and should do for young people and how to locate or start an after-school program. The kit provides a rationale for developing after-school programs, noting the number of children…

This chapter on designing and implementing effective staff development programs is taken from a guide to instruction and services for students with disabilities. The chapter focuses on assessment of staff development needs and identification of priorities for training. Staff development options are discussed in terms of formats (such as workshops,…

Five questionnaires based on Ronald Edmonds' work on "effective schools" were developed for elementary and secondary students, teachers, principals, and parents. They were designed to assess the perceptions of each group on the five areas identified by Edmonds as distinguishing effective and ineffective schools for students from low-income…

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) compiled this guide for schools, community groups, and individuals who are choosing programs that teach personal safety to children. A task force of eight other organizations contributed to the guide. The guide defines child victimization as sexual abuse and assault, abduction,…

Based on research on the features that are found in effective school-wide bilingual education programs, assessment strategies for such programs are offered. The features are in three groups: indicators relating to school context (ethos, management, and resources that affect the attitudes of school staff, students, and parents in language minority…

This document presents a "Quality Program Indicators Checklist" developed with the goal of program improvement in classrooms for students in Kentucky with moderate and severe handicaps. The checklist evaluates program effectiveness in six component areas: (1) integration (interaction opportunities and teacher behaviors supportive of…