John Muir Elementary School in San Francisco is like countless other schools in cities across the United States. The student body comprises mostly lower income, African American and Latino students who--despite being just as intelligent as their white and Asian counterparts--traditionally underachieve on many academic measures. Talented,…

Birmingham City University's Library and Learning Resources' strategic aim is to improve student satisfaction. A key element is the achievement of the Customer Excellence Standard. An important component of the standard is the mapping of services to improve quality. Library and Learning Resources has developed a methodology to map these…

The foundation year and specialization year of study are the accepted framework for graduate social work education. A common belief among educators is that accreditation standards are prescriptive by design, resulting in a rigidity that neither encourages nor supports curricular innovation. This article outlines a newly developed curriculum model…

By interviewing parents and reviewing letters of complaint, Camp Hy-Lake (Tennessee) identified six conditions/outcomes parents expected of a good camp experience. By providing those conditions the camp improved its camper return rate from 60 to 80% in approximately two years and increased camper returns from two to three and a half years. (JHZ)

The objective of this article is to describe the successes and challenges of a unique knowledge mobilization initiative that was funded through the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. This initiative focused on promoting knowledge mobilization by increasing the capacity of child welfare organizations in Ontario to conduct…

More than 50 child care experts were asked (1) What aspects of child care are most likely to ensure high quality? (2) What are the current barriers to achieving quality in child care? and (3) What corporate or labor initiative would make the greatest difference in improving the quality of child care services? Recommendations generated from the…

The crusade to recruit "minority" students has now progressed far enough to draw some conclusions from the results. This article summarizes the minority student recruitment program in general and outlines some of the areas most in need of revision. (Author/PC)

Described is a procedure (Audit Dress Rehearsal) used in a special education program audit consultation service which included a practice audit designed to lower anxiety and raise awareness of concern for program success. The introduction includes sections dealing with evaluation and audit personnel, planning and implementing an audit, and stages…

The primary goal of the Summer Food Service Program (SFSP) is to provide nutritious meals to children in low-income areas when school is not in session. This report presents the findings of the SFSP Implementation Study, a descriptive study of the operations of the SFSP at the state and local levels and how SFSP staff feel the program could be…

The purpose of this paper is to review the social and philosophical setting for illiteracy programs and examine program considerations. (Author/RK)

Examines the current status of library technical assistant (LTA) programs in North America, lists the programs, and describes their major features. Makes suggestions for future directions, including distance learning, specialization within programs, continuing education, articulation agreements with bachelor's degree programs, and an increase in…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…

In 2006, the Weld County School District Re-8 in Fort Lupton, Colorado, was eager to find a way to increase teacher effectiveness and, as a result, improve student achievement. This small, semirural district about 35 miles northeast of Denver grappled with high teacher turnover (34% in 2005) and low scores on state assessments (three out of four…

This article describes Getting to Outcomes (GTO), a 10-step framework for accountability designed to facilitate effective implementation of evidence-based programs and improvement of home-grown practices (Getting to Outcomes and GTO are trademarks registered by the University of South Carolina and RAND; Wandersman, Imm, Chinman, & Kaftarian,…

The Montana Autism Education Project (MAEP), that started in 2010, aimed to: (a) increase teacher knowledge of Evidence-Based Practices (EBPs), (b) provide on-site technical assistance and peer-to-peer collaboration, (c) develop sustainable support for teachers across Montana, and (d) develop inter-agency collaboration between the project and…