This article explores issues that had to be confronted over a three-year period in terms of two New York State funded grants for which I was the evaluator. Major, critical challenges are presented, described, and discussed. Specifically, the paper addresses issues related to lack of planning at the grant design stage that resulted in challenges…

To assist school districts, this document presents the guidelines and evaluation methods used by the New York State Education Department (SED) to identify and validate exemplary school district practices that can be adopted by other districts. The handbook integrates the three phases of the validation process, comprising the district's preparation…