The essays in this collection reflect on effective practices conducted in Catholic schools. Essays were written by participants in the 2000 principals' academy. Under "Section 1: Religious Education" are the following essays: "Kingdom Builders" (Sr. M. Joseph); "Sacramental Programs, Parish Programs" (J. Thaler); and…

An action research project developed a program for increasing student engagement in social studies. The targeted population consisted of fourth-grade students in a Midwestern suburban community. The problem of limited engagement was documented by interviews with third and fourth grade teachers, entries in the teacher's journal, and a series of…

This action research project highlights the implementation of reading strategies that work for at-risk primary students. The targeted population consists of first grade students located in a suburban at-risk school. The dilemma of how to best teach children to read who are at risk for academic failure upon entering school has been documented…

This report describes the decision-making model that provides the theoretical framework being developed by the Early Childhood Research Institute on Measuring Growth and Development (ECRI-MGD) in a 5-year project to generate a set of common child and family indicators that can be used within a comprehensive system of service delivery for young…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a multi-site, multi-state outreach training project that used information generated from a proven model of exemplary practices previously funded by an early childhood education model demonstration program. The outreach training and technical assistance was developed in conjunction with…

This paper describes the creation and evaluation of a World Wide Web-based courseware module, using conceptual models based on constructivism, that teaches novices how to use the Internet for searching. Questionnaires and interviews were used to understand the difficulties of a group of novices. The conceptual model of the experts for the task was…

Institutions of higher education must find ways to develop the expertise needed to teach in the online world. Rather than address the technology as a separate set of skills that can be addressed separately through workshops, this paper makes the case for approaches that consider how course content, pedagogical values, representations, and…

During a symposium, three presentations described initiatives that exemplify the principles and components of the Ecology of Outcomes. Emphasis is on accountability for achieving measurable outcomes and use of outcome information in program planning and development. Summaries of individual papers are: (1) "The Ecology of Outcomes: System…

This guidebook describes a comprehensive program model that can be used as a planning guide for districts, schools, and school counselors as they develop and implement comprehensive guidance and counseling programs. It is intended for counselors, teachers, principals, administrators, and Boards of Education to help them set goals for their…

The initiatives taken by one school district to support professional development for principals in using data for school planning and reform were studied. A data-planning training model was developed in the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) (California) to build skills principals need to read, interpret, and use multiple sources of…

Participants in the Conference on Continuing Vocational Training (CVT) represented 13 countries from Central and Eastern Europe, Kyrgyzstan, Russian Federation, Uzbekistan, European Union (EU) countries, European Commission, and European Training Foundation. The conference aimed to increase awareness among policymakers and social partners on CVT's…

This paper describes a process used to create or revise a gifted education program and a model gifted education program for elementary schools that includes methods of identification and ideas for programming. The following steps are outlined for creating or revising a gifted education program: (1) read relevant textbooks to get a feel for gifted…

Major natural and human-caused disasters deeply affect children, and they have a special vulnerability to such events. The importance of providing crisis counseling recovery assistance within the context of their special world cannot be over emphasized. The information in this manual provides both theory and guidance to individuals concerned with…

This paper suggests that the idea of "taking stock" of the current program--reflecting on what educators believe to be best practice--and then "charting a course" of action to better align practice with vision is a deliberate way for teachers to build capacity to enact reform. It begins by providing a brief overview of the changing direction of…

This paper describes a professional development model which emerged from two projects that had professional development of teachers as an important component. The first project, Project Lighthouse, provided teachers with training to facilitate the inclusion of students with disabilities into general education classrooms. The second project was a…