Evaluation studies can provide feedback on implementation, support continuous improvement, and increase understanding of evaluation systems' impact on teaching and learning. Despite the importance of educator evaluation studies, states often need support to prioritize and fund them. Successful studies require expertise, time, and a shared…

Too many students drop out and never earn their high school diploma. For students at risk of dropping out, academic, social, and other supports may help. "Communities In Schools" seeks to organize and provide these supports to at-risk students in the nation's poorest-performing schools, including through "case-managed"…

This paper develops a systems engineering-based framework to assist in the design of an online engineering course. Specifically, the purpose of the framework is to provide a structured methodology for the design, development and delivery of a fully online course, either brand new or modified from an existing face-to-face course. The main strength…

Background: Despite effective solutions to reduce teen birth rates, Texas teen birth rates are among the highest in the nation. School districts can impact youth sexual behavior through implementation of evidence-based programs (EBPs); however, teen pregnancy prevention is a complex and controversial issue for school districts. Subsequently, very…

Too many freshmen students remain mired in the ninth grade, presenting a growing problem for America's secondary schools as they struggle to improve high school completion rates. In an effort to stem the tide of high school dropouts, a southeast Texas suburban school district with five comprehensive high schools engaged in a systemic reform effort…

The first annual report of the Disabled Children's Project, a 2-year project in Texas, provides information on project background, goal and objectives, approach, operations and accomplishments, and issues and problems. The project was designed to (1) provide training and support services to birth parents and foster parents of disabled infants and…

The purpose of this guide is to help school districts and education service centers plan effective inservice education programs consistent with laws and rules enacted by the Texas state legislature and the Texas State Board of Education. Essential provisions and acceptable activities of inservice teacher education are listed. The basic elements of…

Summaries are given of the formal presentations, seminar group discussions, and problem solving sessions of a Teacher Corps conference on professional improvement by means of inservice teacher education and improvement of individual school climates. Evaluation of the conference is presented in the form of the Context/Input/Process/Product (CIPP)…

Compares benefits and problems associated with traditional and newly automated circulation systems in the learning resources center of a modern medium size high school. Descriptions of the two systems include the selection, implementation, and use of the Apple compatible software used. Eight recommendations for implementing an automated system are…

The Tech-Prep Statewide Professional Development Consortium of Texas supplemented and complemented professional development activities done within 25 local tech prep consortia to assist in full implementation of the tech prep initiative. Needs analyses identified major areas of emphasis, assessed the current level of tech prep knowledge and…

Various aspects of program planning and implementation in the Texas Teacher Corps Network are explored. The following topics are covered: 1) program conceptualization and design; 2) intern and team leader recruitment; 3) Teacher Corps experiences dealing with graduate admission processes and their implications for change; 4) management of Teacher…

This report focuses on the new intergovernmental relationships developing between cities, States and the Federal government as funds are "block granted." The first chapter discusses the historical background of federalism and the redistributive role of government, and puts the "new federalism" in perspective. The following…

A project was conducted to integrate and enhance the applied technology components of instruction provided to students in mathematics and science throughout Texas. During the project, sets of staff development activities on 9 topics were developed and made available to pilot program sites, 96 integrated interdisciplinary instructional activities…

This manual was designed to assist Texas school districts in their efforts to implement Senate Bill (SB) 913 and to serve as a guide for organizing child care programs in the schools. Chapter 1 provides a summary of SB 913, a bill that requires school districts with more than 5,000 students to hold annual public hearings on out-of-school care for…

This learning module is one of three training modules that were developed for members of the Texas Gerontological Consortium for Continuing Education to use in preparing case managers working in human service professions coordinating community-based programs for frail elderly Texans. Module III deals with the following topics: implementation (case…