Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) is an evidence-based approach to addressing behavior issues in schools. The Minnesota Department of Education and the Regional Training Projects sponsor three training sessions per year for schools that are participating in Minnesota's two-year training sequence for PBIS. This report is…

LifeSkills Training is the only program to prevent substance use disorder among adolescents that has evidence of effects on substance use outcomes from multiple randomized controlled trials. Evaluations have shown that the version for middle school students reduces their use of substances in high school, but these studies were conducted in the…

Intermediate School District 287 (ISD 287) provides intensive educational supports to its students. Like many school districts across the nation and in Minnesota, IDS 287 has contracted with police departments to station police officers (called "School Resource Officers") in school buildings. However, ISD 287 ended these contracts and,…

In cities and towns across America, millions of children and youth get out of school by mid-afternoon but have neither a safe, supervised place to go nor a structured or engaging activity in which to participate. Because the hours between 3:00 and 6:00 p.m. are when young people are most likely to be affected by crime or to engage in risky…

The authors tell about their heterogeneous 91 person research and evaluation unit at an operating foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota. They focus on evaluation for program improvement, one of several purposes of studies they work on. The three authors write from their different manager positions within the unit. Included are the context of the…

In 2009, families nationwide were surveyed to see how many children are in afterschool programs, how many are unsupervised after school and how these numbers compare to five years ago. "America After 3 PM" provides the most comprehensive and accurate picture to date of what this nation's youth are doing each day after school. Overall,…

During 2006, High/Scope worked with the Forum to provide training and technical assistance to several state and regional networks which are building quality improvement and accountability systems. In each community, High/Scope staff presented to local decision-makers and provided one- or two-day pilot training workshops for parishioners and…

In the fall of 2003, PACER Center's Parent Partnership Project for Children's Mental Health conducted a survey to better understand what parents and families need from the children?s mental health system in Minnesota. The research team developed a survey questionnaire, a telephone interview, and a focus group session directed at learning what was…

The adult vocational education program in Minnesota was studied to provide information that state administrators, planners, and legislators could use to gain an understanding of the program and how it is perceived by students, employers, and adult vocational education directors and coordinators. A total of 1,519 questionnaires were mailed to a…

This report presents recommendations made by the Minnesota Higher Education Coordinating Board task force on improvement of teacher education programs and curriculum. Chapter one provides the background necessary to understand the origin of the report. The second chapter presents a forecast of future social, economic and political trends, and…

This newsletter issue provides an evaluation of child support systems and services of the 87 counties in Minnesota. No county in the state collects enough to support children, child support is often late or not paid in full, children whose parents never married are especially dependent on the child support systems, and child support services vary…

This monograph offers an in-depth look at the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Rural Systemic Initiative (RSI) efforts, an investment of more than $140 million to reform mathematics and science programs in rural K-12 public education and tribal education. The authors seek to promote a foundation of contextual understanding for improving public…

An eight-year study of 49 schools purporting to practice and apply Quality Management (QM) techniques and processes uncovered some revealing differences between what respondents thought "should be" happening in these schools and what they reported was happening. The gaps uncovered could be recognized as differences between rhetoric and…

This report examines the Way to Grow (WTG) school readiness program, which is designed to promote healthy development and school readiness of Minnesota children from birth through age 6 by coordinating and improving access to community-based health, education, and social services. This pilot program began in fiscal year 1990 and was being…

A study examined the condition of vocational education in correctional institutions in Minnesota. A literature review was conducted, and surveys were sent to 57 instructors and 18 supervisors of vocational education in correctional institutions throughout Minnesota. Forty-one of 57 instructors (72%) and all 18 supervisors (100%) completed the…