Teacher preparation plays a critical role in ensuring that teachers are prepared to lead and impact student learning from the first day they are responsible for student learning. The best way to ensure that every teacher is "profession-ready" from their first day as a teacher-of-record is for preparation programs to incorporate teacher…

The purpose of this study was to conduct a nationwide assessment of state-level environmental education (EE) organizations to determine the components that are essential to the establishment and success of these organizations. E-mail surveys were used to collect data from North American Association for Environmental Education state affiliates, and…

The conference paper examines West Virginia's process-product model used to develop educational programs for exceptional students (behavior disordered learners and intellectually gifted learners). The background of the program is discussed, and requirements of the state's master plan are outlined. Noted are findings and recommendations of task…

Emphasizing the value of the "group home concept" as a means of providing correctional rehabilitation for adolescents, this article describes the development of a West Virginia youth center by three sociology students. (JC)

Music educators elected to offices in the state organization in charge of the West Virginia student chapters of the Music Educators National Conference describe their organization's objectives and strategies. (RM)

The paper traces the establishment and outcomes of a special education program development unit as part of the West Virginia Department of Education. It is explained that the office used a process/product planning approach with information on mission, role/function, allocation of function and resources, and multiple matrix analysis planning. Based…

The purpose of this project was to develop a set of model policies, procedures, and agreements that would enhance student articulation among and between secondary and postsecondary vocational education programs. The project was divided into four phases. In the first phase, a nationwide search and review of existing articulation programs and…

A planning model is presented which was used throughout the development of state and local and vocational guidance models and plans for West Virginia. The general planning model upon which the state model is based is also included. The planning model used is outlined in eighteen steps: (1) identify the problem; (2) decision makers awareness; (3)…

In the 1990s, the nation's educational focus turned to troubled schools in the nation's poorest cities. Under the leadership of Luther Williams, then Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Urban Systemic Initiative was created to improve the teaching and learning of science and mathematics. Recognizing that high-needs…

The mission of the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) was to build a long-term capacity that would improve the educational structures of the rural communities it served. The major strategy ARSI used to create improvement communities across Appalachia was to identify, embrace and educate individual teachers, who became ARSI Teacher…

Four case studies presented in this handbook demonstrate specific techniques which can be used to build citizen participation in a community education program. Based on criteria of adaptability, evidence of effectiveness, and significance, one project for each of the following four classifications of ninety-two relevant projects was selected for…