This report summarizes AISD's 2007-2008 evaluation of year one implementation of the First Things First initiative at 3 high schools.

A study was conducted to determine whether long-term residential therapeutic wilderness programming best serves males or females. The Hope Center Wilderness Programs in east Texas use a reality therapy-based peer group culture. Forty emotionally disturbed and juvenile delinquent youths were surveyed, 20 of each gender. On an 11-item questionnaire,…

This set of transparency masters provides information on a study of 52 adolescents with behavior disorders. The study assessed the value of teaching basic reading skills to at-risk 8th- to 10th-graders who were reading below the 4th grade level. Students were divided into three groups based on IQ level. The adolescents attended a foundation course…

Many reports of successful school-based intervention programs suffer from an overestimation of the real effects, errors which many times arise from statistical technicalities. An illustration of such overestimations, as seen through a reanalysis of data on a successful program, is reported in this paper. The data were reevaluated using a variety…

This digest summarizes information on incidence in and identification and intervention of potentially suicidal children and youth with disabilities. Estimates suggesting that some categories of exceptional youth have higher suicide rates than the general population are cited. Suicide risk factors and signs that a student is potentially suicidal…

Project PATHE (Positive Action Through Holistic Education) was a 3-year delinquency prevention program implemented in seven schools by the Charleston County, Maryland public school system between 1980 and 1983. An evaluation of the PATHE program was conducted which compared PATHE schools to two non-PATHE schools. Year-to-year differences in the…

The purpose of this study was to determine if training in progressive relaxation would reduce the frequency of classroom disruptions of low income first grade students. A total of 22 students in one classroom were randomly assigned to an experimental or a control group. A frequency count of classroom disruptions was made for 5 days before the…

The effectiveness of Project Jericho, a 1-year program designed to improve the parole success rate of male California Youth Authority wards living in group homes, was assessed. Each group home had a resource developer who helped parolees find jobs, enroll in school or training, and establish links to the community. Jericho parolees (N=53) were…

The Classroom Management Improvement Study (CMIS) was designed to investigate a complex staff development effort in order to provide a clear explication of the treatment in the event that either researchers or practitioners desired to replicate the intervention. The treatment was directed toward introducing effective classroom management…

The relative effectiveness of four instructional methods for increasing the interpersonal vocational skills of 122 mildly retarded high school students was investigated. Curriculum packages featured (1) verbal presentation of problematic social situations, (2) verbal presentation coupled with behavior rehearsal, (3) videotape vignettes of problem…

A middle school principal with 17 years of experience as a classroom teacher implemented a practicum designed to develop positive, long-lasting social skills among elementary school students in the intermediate grades. The primary goal of the intervention was to decrease the number of instances in which students used verbal or physical aggression…

This paper describes the participants, treatment features and outcomes of a day treatment program for adolescents with emotional and behavioral problems, who had been formally adjudicated "dependent." Characteristics of the 133 adolescents served over a 5-year period are presented along with a chart of referral sources for each year of…

Alternatives, the Drug and Alcohol Prevention Program of Community School District 22 in Brooklyn, N.Y., is a broad-based substance abuse prevention program funded by the state that provides direct services to students and their families through three service modalities. These are prevention services, which provide students, parents, and the…

These symposium papers describe various aspects of the Camp Logan, South Carolina, program, a therapeutic summer residential program for children, ages 8-14, who have significant behavior problems. The philosophy and advantages of the therapeutic camping model are discussed, e.g., structure during the summer, controlled though informal…

The book discusses current issues and trends in special education programming at the secondary level. An introductory chapter by Cynthia L. Warger outlines service delivery program models and the range of curriculum content options. In Chapter 2, Janet Sansone focuses on the issue of accountability in secondary education as it relates to…