This paper proposes a new bipartisan initiative to strengthen the effectiveness of U.S. social programs by focusing funds within each program on research-proven projects, practices, and strategies ("interventions"). The proposal seeks neither an increase nor decrease in overall program funding; rather, its central aim is to maximize the…

The "2011 State Preschool Yearbook" is the newest edition of our annual report profiling state-funded prekindergarten programs in the United States. This latest "Yearbook" presents data on state-funded prekindergarten during the 2010-2011 school year as well as documenting a decade of progress since the first…

PT3 implementation grant funds have been used to restructure a teacher education program to meet the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS) defined by the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). The Brigham Young University PT3 implementation grant supported design teams of teacher education and content area faculty who…

This report chronicles the record of the Reading First program as a research-based approach to teaching children to read, from early successes as a strict program whose funding would be distributed to states and districts using reading curricula whose effectiveness had been validated by scientific study, to one of eased eligibility that permitted…

The purposes of this study were to (a) identify how leadership in a successful rural school districts has helped raise student achievement levels beyond those of comparable school districts as measured by state and federal mandated test scores, (b) investigate the district leadership that aligns with identified effective practices, and (c)…

AmeriCorps is the largest national and community service program since the Civilian Conservation Corps of the 1930s. Data from meeting with officials of AmeriCorps*USA; examination of grant files for all grantees' programs; review of Corporation program policies, guidance, and plans; random sampling of programs; and site visits to seven…

Head Start, the federally funded, comprehensive child development program for low-income preschool children, was reauthorized by Congress in 1990 with a sufficient increase in funding to serve all eligible children by 1994, and to strengthen the Head Start program in general. The National Head Start Association mailed 1,800 surveys to Head Start…

The operation of the U.S. Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training was examined to determine the following: (1) the use of apprenticeship to train workers; (2) federal and state resources dedicated to administering apprenticeship; and (3) the representation of minorities and women in apprenticeship. Information was obtained from the U.S. Department…

This document discusses the status, impact, and administration of the following programs implemented under the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act of 1987: (1) the Emergency Food and Shelter Program; (2) the Emergency Shelter Grants Program; (3) the Supportive Housing Demonstration (SHD) Program; (4) the Supplemental Assistance for…

This digest identifies current programmatic efforts to inform and support parents and briefly reviews research on the effectiveness of parent education and support programs. The discussion of approaches to parent support focuses on parent education programs, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments (Public Law 99-457), Head Start, state…

Evaluations of Chapter 1 programs usually center on one of three questions: (1) Does the program constitute an appropriate Federal investment? (2) Does the program have the potential to benefit students? and (3) Is the program feasible enough to implement? Often, evaluators and legislators disagree over which of these questions is most important.…

This is a collection of four papers concerned with improvement of Chapter 1 programs in the northwestern United States. The first paper (Steve Murray) describes a program improvement support model presently in use. It summarizes the process of program adoption in five northwestern states and describes differences in state context that have…

A study examined and evaluated both public and private efforts to assist dislocated farmers, with particular emphasis on employment and training programs. The study found that about 46,000 farmers are currently leaving farming each year, and the rate probably will continue for the next several years. Since the majority of the farmers who leave…

The change from the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation Act raises issues concerning reading programs covered by the act. The purpose of both laws is to meet the special needs of educationally deprived children. The laws are similar in that they (1) promote teacher and parent involvement; (2) contain…

Historical changes in the emphasis and focus of Project Head Start from 1965 to the present are briefly reviewed in this paper. Head Start was conceived of as primary prevention designed to enable children from lower income families to obtain educational prerequisites to formal schooling. The early years of the project were also characterized by…