Mentoring is a series of collaborative activities and conversations between young people and older or more experienced persons (i.e., mentors) who are acting in a helping capacity to provide support that benefits one or more areas of the young person's development. This resource offers those who develop and implement mentoring services meaningful…

Governments and other organizations that design, implement, or manage in-service teacher professional development (TPD) programs navigate many choices and challenges to build monitoring and evaluation (M&E) systems that suit their program objectives and constraints. The primary objective of a TPD M&E system is to help guide the program…

This tool is a simplified version of the evaluation framework developed by Wenger, Trayner, and de Laat (2011), building upon Kirkpatrick (1976, 1994). These internationally recognized experts on professional learning and collaboration developed their value creation framework to address the dual challenges of attending to the diversity of types of…

Head Start has long focused on assessing and improving program quality to ensure that the children served receive the best possible preparation for school and life. Most research has been focused inside the classroom--the classroom environment, teacher qualifications, and teacher interactions. Of course, the classroom is important because that is…

A quality improvement system (QIS) is an intentional effort to raise the quality of afterschool programming in an ongoing, organized fashion. There are a number of reasons the QIS is gaining popularity. The main reasons community leaders are drawn to improving quality is that they know that 1) higher quality programs will mean better experiences…

Key stakeholders who implement Supported Education may find themselves asking two questions: (1) Has Supported Education been implemented as planned?; and (2) Has Supported Education resulted in the expected outcomes? Asking these two questions and using the answers to help improve Supported Education are critical for ensuring the success of one's…

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 Center for Adult English Language Acquisition (CAELA) Network, under contract with the Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE), has created a framework that can be used to plan, implement, and evaluate professional development for practitioners working with adult English language learners at the state, regional, and program levels. The…

Regardless of where you are in your school improvement process, here's a book that helps you make sure you have all the right elements working for you in the right way. The authors take you through the core processes that are essential for all school improvement efforts--from establishing your mission to differentiating your supervision based on…

Successfully navigating early adolescence depends, in large part, on the availability of safe and engaging activities and supportive relationships with adults, yet many preteens have limited access to positive supports and opportunities such as high-quality after-school programs that could put them on a path to success. Funders, policymakers and…

Coalitions have key roles in helping their communities accomplish the following: (1) Track the level of literacy in the community; (2) Use that information to help identify what, and how much, literacy assistance is needed; (3) Assess the extent to which community literacy programs are meeting the need, including how well existing literacy…

This manual is designed to benefit those interested in the improvement of small programs, focusing on techniques used to check on a program's goal achievement. A small program is defined, for the purpose of this manual, as one that affects a limited number of students (less than 100) and is taught by a limited staff (5 or less) with limited or no…

Lists six recommendations made by consultants who evaluated a writing program at Lehigh University. Gives a brief history of the problem that led to each of the recommendations. Offers five tips for others who are thinking of doing a writing program evaluation. (MG)

This booklet briefly describes the potentials and problems of different ways of assessing the short-term impact of early childhood Title I (ECT-I) programs. It is intended for education officials and evaluators who already know something of Title I evaluation, but who may not be familiar with the special issues involved in evaluation of early…

This article presents suggestions for enhancing the success of inservice programs, with particular attention to the need for adequate follow-through. Issues addressed include selection of topics, specification of goals, adequate planning and support, and thorough preparation of those responsible for program development. (PGD)