In 1994 the Ohio State Legislature established Venture Capital to support school restructuring. The Venture Capital school initiative is a concept borrowed from the business community in which the corporate entity provides risk capital to parts of the organization to stimulate creative ideas and to provide opportunities for local entities to try…

In 1988, the State Legislature created the New Mexico Cooperative Program to develop and expand cooperative education (co-op) programs. The Commission on Higher Education (CHE) was designated to help institutions establish and expand programs and collect information. For reporting purposes, CHE required that, in order to be considered co-op, work…

This annual report on gifted education programs in Arkansas outlines the status of recommendations made in prior reports and urges action on new recommendations, such as acquiring additional staff positions and ensuring that enrollment in gifted programs reflects the ethnic and economic makeup of the total school population. Appendices contain:…

Information compiled from 50 states is presented to help schools, districts, and states look for answers on how to best provide incentives to improve education. Five key questions are addressed: (1) Are states linking rewards to performance of teachers or students? (2) Are incentive programs creating new roles for teachers and principals? (3) Are…

The two parts of this report to the Kansas State Board of Education discuss the need for early childhood education, and the feasibility of early childhood education in the public schools. Data suggest a need for preschool education, especially for vulnerable children who cannot otherwise receive the benefits of education when they reach the age of…

The booklet presents an overview of California's GATE (Gifted and Talented Education) program. Following a brief introduction, the booklet presents a rationale and statement of program goals along with a discussion of legislative intent. Standards for quality programing are outlined. A model depicts the three major GATE components: (1)…

The Research in Teacher Education (RITE) study is currently examining in depth two selected state-mandated induction programs for beginning teachers. The sample includes 16 first year teachers (along with the teachers, administrators, and other educators selected to work with them) situated in 13 schools in 4 districts in 2 states. Data were…

This paper describes the development of a state initiative to improve the quality of induction programs for new teachers in Maryland. The Maryland State Department of Education (MSDE) based its decisions about appropriate teacher induction programs on a variety of information sources from research and practice. The important steps in the creation…

The state plan outlines standards and procedures for providing educational and other services to developmentally disabled persons in New Jersey. The first section defines developmental disabilities (DD) and considers how many people have DD, how DD affect individuals, and the purposes of the Developmental Disabilities Basic State Grant Program.…

Designed to propose ways for the Colorado Department of Education to provide leadership in the implementation of a statewide educational telecommunications network, this study examines ways in which telecommunications can be used by the state department of education, school districts, libraries, and other informational or educational agencies to…

This newsletter issue focuses on the subject of mandatory testing of prospective teachers prior to certification. The following questions are discussed: (1) What are the major types of teacher tests? (2) How prevalent are teacher tests? (3) What are the major teacher tests? (4) What problems do teacher testing programs address? (5) What are the…

The paper explores policy options for beginning, expanding, or establishing services for disabled and at-risk infants and toddlers in a state. An initial section outlines characteristic advantages and drawbacks of options in three areas: legislative action (mandatory, phase-in, and non-mandatory legislation), executive action, and interagency…

A study conducted in 1980 to examine the first year of the role and functions of Project Basic facilitators is described. Project Basic is Maryland's statewide competency-based educational program. The facilitators are state education agency (SEA) supported staff located at 23 of the state's 24 local education agencies (LEAs). The two major…

Describes the essential characteristics, development, implementation, and anticipated benefits of an innovative New Jersey program that will allow local districts to hire and train for certification prospective teachers who have college degrees and subject area expertise. (PGD)

An internship/residency model of teacher education was developed by the California Consortium on the Beginning Years of Teaching. A successful initiation of the model and problems that prevented implementation elsewhere are described. (DF)