For someone who has never been convicted of a crime, the author spends an unusual amount of time in state prisons and youth correctional facilities. She does not work for these criminal justice agencies; instead, she studies prison culture, and--in small ways-- has become a part of it. The author is a university professor trained in sociology and…

This article describes the author's (an elementary school librarian) journey as she researched various bike bookmobile programs in the United States. Though the three programs had different target audiences, all the bike bookmobiles that she observed generated excitement and interest in reading. Public interest for each program was high. People…

In an effort to leverage students' positive community engagement experiences as they transition to and become alumni, Portland State University (PSU) embarked on a pilot "Continuing Engagement Program." This article provides a rationale for this effort, an overview of the programmatic elements, lessons learned, and future engagement…

All schools can benefit from giving students the option of online learning, but for many rural schools, online learning is a lifeline. In the past two years, Lane Education Service District in Oregon, USA, has developed online resources for 14 Lane County school districts, which vary in size from 170 students to as many as 17,000. Many of the…

Quality Rating Systems (QRS) are currently operating, under development, or being piloted in over 25 states or local areas. As the QRS model becomes integrated into the landscape of child care and education service delivery, policy, and the decisions parents make about child care across the United States, there is an increasing need for…

This article reviews the contributions of the Oregon Resiliency Project, an effort to enhance positive social-emotional development of children and youth through social and emotional learning (SEL). The project was launched in 2001 as a collaborative effort between faculty and graduate student researchers at the University of Oregon. The primary…