High-quality afterschool and summer learning programs are effective ways to support children and teens and accelerate their academic growth. In fact, the American Rescue Plan prioritized a significant amount of funding for out-of-school time programs because of the evidence of their effectiveness. Over the past few years, state educational…

Community colleges are expected to contribute to economic development efforts by implementing new programs that respond to the needs of business and industry. Program development is complex, especially for community colleges in rural areas where business and industry are scarce. This qualitative study explores the factors that influence successful…

Based largely on interviews with stakeholders in California, New York, Tennessee, and West Virginia, this report describes how these states have established initiatives related to early college readiness assessments and transition curricula. It then compares the development of these interventions across states and identifies factors that have…

Various approaches to the professional development school (PDS)--each designed for its respective audience, mission, and purpose for engagement--have shaped the professional development school effort during the past 25 years. Central to these approaches is improving teacher quality in the service of student learning. This provides direction for…

Through the "Strengthening Statewide College/Career Readiness Initiative" (SSCRI), Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) has collaborated with states on state policy goals and actions needed to improve high school students' academic readiness for postsecondary study and reduce the need for remedial work. SREB created and implemented…

In 1998, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) began developing what is now the Appalachian Higher Education (AHE) Network. The AHE Network, currently composed of eight centers, has the mission of increasing the college-going rate in Appalachia, the numbers of students who continue their education directly after graduating high school. This…

The 10 papers presented in this report examine various aspects of rural bookmobile projects in the United States. The objectives of this first bookmobile conference were to offer (1) encouragement to bookmobile workers; (2) information for improving their services; (3) new data for subjective analysis of services; and (4) assistance in developing…

Describes the design and implementation of the microcomputer network that will soon link every vocational center and comprehensive high school in West Virginia. The author discusses the advantages of networking, what equipment is used, instructional emphases, how various programs use the network, teacher training, and learner outcomes. (CT)

Two ninth-grade curriculum development projects were carried out over a three-year period (1975-78) in West Virginia at Point Pleasant Junior High School and at Wahama Junior/Senior High School. Known as Project Open, these projects resulted in the development and classroom testing of two new technology-based courses called "Career…

A comprehensive third-party evaluation of a regional career education project covering an eight-county area in West Virginia focused on the project's most recent year of operation (1975-76). The evaluation attempted to measure the degree of attainment of stated goals and objectives and was designed to develop a guide and lend direction to local…

A project implemented cooperative training programs in the three occupational areas: ADA computer language use; respiratory therapy technician; and hospital pharmacy technician. The project's purpose was to demonstrate high technology training programs for adults as a cooperative effort among the West Virginia Department of Education, local…

In the 1990s, the nation's educational focus turned to troubled schools in the nation's poorest cities. Under the leadership of Luther Williams, then Assistant Director of the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Urban Systemic Initiative was created to improve the teaching and learning of science and mathematics. Recognizing that high-needs…

In 1992, the U.S. Department of Labor and Council of Chief State School Officers awarded grants for the development of statewide systems to enhance school-to-work transition (SWT) through youth apprenticeship in eight states: California, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Oregon, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. In June 1993, the programs were…

The mission of the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) was to build a long-term capacity that would improve the educational structures of the rural communities it served. The major strategy ARSI used to create improvement communities across Appalachia was to identify, embrace and educate individual teachers, who became ARSI Teacher…

Four case studies presented in this handbook demonstrate specific techniques which can be used to build citizen participation in a community education program. Based on criteria of adaptability, evidence of effectiveness, and significance, one project for each of the following four classifications of ninety-two relevant projects was selected for…