A key component of comprehensive school and higher ed emergency operations plans (EOPs) is an exercise program that includes the five types of exercises: (1) orientations, (2) tabletop exercises, (3) drills, (4) functional exercises, and (5) full-scale exercises. The exercise program can be developed during Step 5 of the six-step planning process…

This paper reports on the findings from the STEM Educators Academy, an ExpandED Schools initiative where classroom teachers and after-school educators engage in joint professional development at premiere science institutions, then work together back at their schools to teach maker-design projects that spark student interest and cultivate curiosity…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe a pilot application of the Sustainable Transportation Analysis & Rating System (STARS), and highlight how a sustainability rating system can be used to promote sustainable urban development through a university-city partnership. STARS is an example of a second-generation "green"…

Increasing dialog and interaction between the corporate community and students is a key strategic goal of many universities. This paper describes an event that has been specifically designed to increase student and corporate engagement. It describes the process of planning and executing a targeted career day for information systems and information…

Service-learning can be a valuable educational enterprise with both course-specific and general education benefits, as well as contributions to the community. These potential merits and key considerations in achieving them are discussed with special attention to the mathematical sciences.

The ultimate goal in educating students is to produce competent new professionals. A well-planned service-learning project with the appropriate community partner allows students to become more engaged in the process of learning as they meet course objectives and gain a greater sense of self-efficacy upon completion of the project. With a…

In this paper we discuss how the products of student work during long-term, interdisciplinary curricular units at King Middle School, a grades 6-8 public school in Portland, Maine, through their aesthetic qualities, transformed people's understanding of what children were capable of. We argue that, to effectively understand student work of this…

Universities throughout the United States operate engagement centers to extend campus faculty, staff and student resources to their communities. In 2014, the University of Nebraska Omaha (UNO) opened the Barbara Weitz Community Engagement Center (Weitz CEC): a privately funded $24 million, 70,000 square foot facility located in the middle of its…

This article describes the evolution of the Charlotte Action Research Project (CHARP), a community-university partnership founded in 2008 at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, and focuses particularly on the program's unique organizational structure. Research findings of a project evaluation suggest that the CHARP model's unique…

Outdoor learning areas are becoming more popular as a means for community-based, cross-curricular learning where children study issues of local relevance (Sobel 2004). Outdoor learning areas, any place outside of the school building where children can observe and interact with the natural world around them, include outdoor structures for seating…

The Year 2 Preschool Expansion Grant (PEG) implementation study focuses on the second year of supports and outcomes for teachers, classroom quality, and supports for families. Overall, compared to its first year of implementation, the PEG programs in Year 2 (which was the 2016-17 school year) appear to have made progress towards delivering the key…

Integrated Event Design (IED) capitalizes on three distinct courses to achieve a blended course delivery: Event Management, Research and Evaluation (for undergraduate students), and Experiential Education (for graduate students). Through the use of an event management company metaphor that fully integrates the diverse curricular concepts, course…

Each school day, our nation's schools are entrusted to provide a safe and healthy learning environment for approximately 55 million elementary and secondary school students in public and nonpublic schools. In collaboration with their local government and community partners, schools can take steps to plan for these potential emergencies through the…

As part of the federal Preschool Development Grant Program in late 2014, the Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) was awarded a Preschool Expansion Grant (referred to as the Massachusetts PEG program) to expand high-quality early childhood education to four-year-old children from low-income families. The Massachusetts PEG…

Background: Public health professionals must monitor the effectiveness of school policies and programs to prevent youth initiation, promote quitting, and eliminate secondhand smoke. This analysis of school tobacco policies was preliminary to release of a state tobacco prevention and control plan for 2010-2015. Methods: University health educators…