Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' (CMS) Parent University is an innovative, collaborative initiative designed to engage parents in their children's education. Working with community partners, Parent University offers unique courses and workshops such as Parenting Awareness, Helping Your Child Learn in the 21st Century, Health and Wellness, and…

When educators do not facilitate English language learners' (ELLs) social integration in schools, this can perpetuate ELLs' marginalized status and the plateauing of ELLs' English language development. This study highlights a program for secondary ELLs called the ELL Ambassadors program, which partnered ELLs with non-ELLs based on shared…

This paper describes a major initiative in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to develop a statewide, standards-based, student report card for reporting the learning progress of individual students at all grade levels (K-12). Led by a team of researchers with expertise in grading and reporting, 36 educators from three diverse school districts created…

As the growth of online programs continues to rapidly accelerate, concern over retention is increasing. Models for understanding student persistence in the face-to-face environment are well established, however, the many of the variables in these constructs are not present in the online environment or they manifest in significantly different ways.…

In fall 2004, the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) officially launched its own customized version of the online Career Portfolio, originally developed by Florida State University (Lumsden and others, 2001). This launch represented the culmination of nearly sixteen months of planning and development by a multidisciplinary team comprising…

This chapter examines lessons learned by states that are using student unit record (SUR) data to improve outcomes for community college students and recommends steps states can take to strengthen their use of SUR databases to benefit students and communities. (Contains 1 exhibit.)

Describes the construction and implementation of a pilot project involving the use of microcomputers in secondary school administration in Canada. Reactions of students, parents, and school administrators to the computerized scheduling and attendance programs are evaluated. Sample printout pages are included. (JJD)

Serving Native American adults of Thurston and Pierce communities, the Adult Education Program individualizes instruction and makes full use of tribal community resources to improve educational level and employment opportunities. Major program goals are to increase high school equivalency completion rates, to enhance ability of identified extreme…