In honor of the 2014 International Year of Crystallography, the first Wisconsin Crystal Growing Competition was successfully organized and conducted. High school students from 26 schools across the state competed for prizes by growing large crystals of CuSO[subscript4]·5(H[subscript2]O). This paper describes how the event was planned and carried…

The human brain develops rapidly in the first five years of life. High-quality early learning experiences can have a profound and lasting positive effect on young children during these years, setting the stage for success in kindergarten and beyond. This is especially true for young children with high needs who are from low-income families; who…

Designed to improve PK-12 professional learning and increase student achievement, Wisconsin's policymakers developed and implemented new educator licensing guidelines (PI 34) and a Professional Development Plan (PDP) system based on empirical research and national policy trends in 2004. As PI 34 and the PDP system are relatively new, the…

This brief explores three examples of state policies designed to help students and families cope with rising tuition costs at four-year institutions: the Wisconsin Covenant, the Georgia HOPE Scholarship Program, and the Indiana Twenty-first Century Scholars Program. Although the authors acknowledge the important role two-year colleges play in…

As an educational media, radio has a long and complex history in the United States, but its most extensive and important use in education took place during the School of the Air (SOA) movement. From approximately 1929 to 1975, commercial broadcast networks, state universities and departments or colleges of education, and local school boards…

Access to a quality, affordable college education remains a cornerstone of American economic and social development. Individuals from all backgrounds need the knowledge and skills afforded by higher education to compete in an increasingly integrated--and competitive--global economy. Greater educational attainment correlates with many positive…

Recent state efforts reflect a growing commitment to building state child care systems, but increasing child care capacity while simultaneously designing and expanding good quality, new child care systems remains a challenge. On November 17, 1997, the Child Care Action Campaign (CCAC) conducted an audioconference that focused on how Wisconsin,…

The report briefly describes 102 educational projects -- 28 of which have to do with gifted/talented or handicapped students -- in the State of Wisconsin, which were awarded federal grants during the fiscal year 1978 under ESEA Title IV-C of Public Law 93-380. The report is divided into four sections: feasibility studies, adopter/adapter projects,…

The report, over half of which consists of appendixes, discusses the statewide handicapped children identification effort in Wisconsin, as mandated by the Education for All Handicapped Children Act (P.L. 94-142), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and other legislation. The section on the statewide identification project (Project Child…

Comments on Wisconsin's commitment to agriculture and agricultural education, focusing on the Young Farmer Program, a postsecondary program consisting of forty hours of classroom instruction coupled with on-farm instruction designed to provide people becoming established in farming with competencies that will assist them in making rational and…

The major purpose of this descriptive report is to provide an overview of the structure, capacity, and roles of educational service agencies (ESAs) across five states--Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, and Wisconsin--in the Great Lakes region, within the context of the broader statewide systems of support for educational improvement and progress.…

This report from a 1996 Child Care Action Campaign national audioconference concerns approaches taken by Wisconsin and Minnesota in designing and implementing federally funded child care subsidy systems. Wisconsin Works phases out Aid to Families with Dependent Children cash assistance and redirects funds into job training, child care, and health…

This preliminary case study of inter-organizational dissemination arrangements presents a conceptual framework for conducting large-scale investigations of state dissemination activities and its application in the organization and analysis of information dealing with such arrangements in Wisconsin and Utah. When the findings of the Wisconsin case…

This paper provides information on testing programs for elementary and secondary school students that are administered or coordinated by the Office of Educational Accountability within the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction. The first section provides background and definitions of assessment alternatives, including various types of…

The Wisconsin Early Childhood Collaborating Partners (WECCP) is a grassroots effort providing leadership and guidance to state agencies and local organizations in facilitating the development and implementation of a plan to permit every child and family in Wisconsin access to a blended, comprehensive delivery system for high quality early…