A randomized experiment that measures the impact of a social policy in a sample of the population reveals whether the policy will work on average with universal application. An experiment that includes only the subset of the population that volunteers for the intervention generates narrower "proof-of-concept" evidence of whether the…

Shawnee State University (SSU) founded Project BEAR: Building Emerging and Achieving Readers, an AmeriCorps program, to support literacy development and improve school readiness in the Appalachian region. After the first 2 years of program implementation, areas for growth including enhanced service member recruitment, member onboarding, and…

Describes small-scale volunteer program developed at Barnett Shoals School, Clarke County, Georgia. (DS)

The City/County/Regional Government Volunteer Programs Coordinator Program was inaugurated by ACTION as one of several projects to test whether the Federal government can play an expanded role in the volunteer movement. ACTION invited interested city, county, and regional governments to submit proposals for participation in a series of 1-year,…

A 1965 summer training program for 90 VISTA volunteers at Monte Vista, Colorado, is described and evaluated in this report. The program was designed to prepare VISTA trainees to work in poverty areas by providing individual helping services and by planning and organizing community action. The trainees lived and worked in Monte Vista, a small…

This manual is designed primarily to assist Education Peace Corps Volunteers undertake community projects in addition to their primary job assignment. Chapter 1 discusses the factors that determine the measure of success of the project. The process, not the product, is emphasized. Chapter 2 on situational analysis outlines areas of investigation…

This report describes and evaluates an adult literacy education program, Project LEAD (Literacy Education and Development), at the Adrian Public Library (Michigan). The project's objectives were to: recruit functionally illiterate adults and provide reading instruction to improve literacy skills; recruit and train 65 additional volunteer tutors…

The Peace Corps has probably had the most comprehensive system ever developed for large-scale selection of personnel; by 1973, nearly 400,000 persons had applied for appearance. During much of its history, a Division of Research has been operative; the monograph surveys most of the publications of that division as well as a number of other studies…

An independent evaluation of the VISTA program in two Baltimore, Maryland, schools describes the objectives and activities of this project funded by the Economic Opportunity Act. Assessment of the VISTA efforts was based on questionnaires completed by the 10 volunteers, and interviews with principals, teachers, guidance counselors, pupils, and…

This report addresses impact of the Learn and Serve America Higher Education (LSAHE) service learning initiatives on communities, higher education institutions, and students, and is based on 3 years (1995-97) of data collection and observation at 27 institutions. LSAHE has awarded grants to higher education institutions and community organizations…

This handbook is designed to help Peace Corps programmers in planning, developing, implementing, and evaluating projects. The first four chapters describe the development process, discuss the purpose and mission of the Peace Corps, provide an overview of Peace Corps programming, and list project criteria. The next 19 chapters present the following…

As the first awardees in the Student Community Service (SCS) program conclude their third and final year of funding and as SCS becomes an established part of ACTION's system of volunteer opportunities, it seems a proper time to evaluate the program. This evaluation examines whether the SCS has made a difference in the host communities served, and…

This Head Start evaluation system was developed at the request of the California Head Start Directors Association. There was a broad-based input in all phases of its development, from Head Start directors, Head Start staff from all components, and Head Start parents. It was extensively field tested in one of the major California Head Start…

THIS PROPOSAL IS FOR A KINDERGARTEN PROGRAM TO REINFORCE THE SOCIAL, PSYCHOLOGICAL, AND COGNITIVE GAINS ACHIEVED BY ABOUT 125 RACIALLY INTEGRATED PROJECT HEADSTART GRADUATES. FUNDED UNDER TITLE VI OF THE 1964 CIVIL RIGHTS ACT, THE PROGRAM WILL BE STAFFED BY FIVE CLASSROOM TEACHERS, ONE CONSULTING TEACHER, ONE LANGUAGE SPECIALIST, ONE GUIDANCE…

VOLUME IV, A STATISTICAL SUPPLEMENT TO AN EVALUATION REPORT OF NEW ENGLAND'S 1966 TITLE I PROJECTS, PRESENTS PROJECT DATA WHICH COMPARE THE STATES AND PROJECT TYPES. (LB)