The Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) provides tax support for children from low-income families to attend private schools. It is administered by the Wisconsin State Department of Public Instruction, although lack of administrative support for the program has been apparent. In addition, the Superintendent of Public Instruction has expressed…

This edition of the newsletter of the National Information Center for Handicapped Children and Youth is intended to help special educators and human service professionals improve the availability of services to handicapped children from minority groups. The first part of the paper focuses on current trends including: (1) the increase in the number…

Summarized in this report are the proceedings of a conference sponsored by the Institute for Research on Poverty and the Department of Health and Human Services, and entitled "Poverty and Policy: Retrospect and Prospects." Each section of the report contains a summary of one conference session. Major themes include: (1) the effects of market…

The Ontario (Canada) Ministry of Education and the Toronto (Ontario) Board of Education have suggested or mandated use of the teacher advisory structure for grades 7 through 9. The establishment of teacher advisory groups involves organizing teachers and students into small groups to permit instruction and advising to be personalized. Their…

This document is comprised of the 1998 issues (issues 3 and 4 are combined) of a quarterly newsletter produced by the Harvard Family Research Project to share new ideas and experiences in evaluating systems reform and comprehensive child and family services. Regular columns include: "From the Director's Desk,""Theory and…

Hospitals--the most costly segment of the health care system--are beginning to use benchmarking to discover how other hospitals and businesses have developed cost-cutting and time-saving ways of doing things. Benchmarking is a sophisticated, multifaceted procedure, usually conducted by teams, for identifying and adapting best-in-class practices.…

This report evaluates a project designed to reduce the number of student suspensions and disciplinary referrals in the Oklahoma City Public Schools. The report describes these four program components: 1) the Elementary Early Intervention Program to provide preventative services for students with absentee and school behavior problems; 2) the School…

In 1988, the American College Testing Program, together with the National Council of Instructional Administrators and the National Council for Student Development, initiated Project Cooperation (PC) to examine outcomes assessment strategies and measures of institutional effectiveness among two-year colleges. The first initiative of PC was a survey…

This paper examines the problem of determining how effective student aid programs have been in promoting the college enrollment of lower income and disadvantaged students and analyzes the institutional means through which federal aid policies have been implemented. The importance of considering the key role of state and institutional responses to…

Even Start is a family support program focusing on family literacy and school readiness. These first seven issues of the "Look at Even Start" newsletter cover topics such as transition between preschool and kindergarten, collaboration between programs and between parents and programs, ways Even Start programs respond to parents' needs…

This theme issue focuses on instructional practices, evaluation, and the state of bilingual education. "Effective Implementation of Bilingual Programs: Reflections from the Field" (Abelardo Villarreal, Adela Solis) describes the key characteristics of successful bilingual programs: vision and goals; program leadership; linkage to central…

The 10 issues of IDRA Newsletter published in 2001 focus on education in Texas and on national and statewide educational issues concerning minority, low-income, or bilingual students. Feature articles are: "Challenges and Strategies for Principals of Low-Performing Schools" (Abelardo Villarreal); "Coca-Cola Valued Youth Program in…

This document is comprised of the two 2001 issues of a newsletter of the Harvard Family Research Project, designed to share new ideas and experiences in evaluating systems reform and comprehensive child and family services. The first issue focuses on strategic communications and efforts of nonprofit agencies to evaluate strategic communication…

Offering new perspectives on academic advising in community colleges, this book defines developmental academic advising, describes the organization and delivery of advising services, and discusses key components of effective programs. The following 10 chapters are included: (1) "Developmental Academic Advising," by Thaddeus M. Raushi,…

Faculty members in various Illinois universities work cooperatively in implementing and refining a program of teacher identification of problems of pupils which limit and handicap their progress in school. The Student Needs Assessment Program (SNAP) requires a high level of professional commitment from both teachers and the principal. Teachers use…