This case study describes a professional learning opportunity for educators of adolescents, namely the Literacy for Adolescent Teachers (LAT), at a regional midsize university in Kentucky. The LAT is a year-long experience that enrollees undertake to grow professionally by gaining specific literacy skills. This study focuses specifically on…

The Issue: To prepare for the demands of postsecondary education and the workforce, students need to master content and build skills that allow them to collaborate with others, and then apply that knowledge to new situations. Students will be able to access a wider range of opportunities in college, career, and civic life if they possess the…

Significant funds have been allocated in the United States at the federal, state, and local levels to provide teacher professional development aimed at bringing about instructional change and resulting in improved student achievement. One important indicator for quality and effectiveness in professional development is change in teaching practice.…

This study describes the implementation and findings from a consultation process designed to enhance the professional development (PD) offered to teachers working in Virginia's state-funded preschool program. A PD Rubric was developed to translate research on effective PD (i.e., PD practices linked to positive changes in teacher practice and/or…

To provide the highest quality of education to students, school administrators must adopt new frameworks to meet learners' needs. This allows teaching practices to be optimized to create a meaningful learning environment. "Examining the Potential for Response to Intervention (RTI) Delivery Models in Secondary Education: Emerging Research and…

High-quality 4-H programming requires effective professional development of educators. Through a mixed methods study, we explored professional development offered through state 4-H programs. Survey results revealed that both in-person and online delivery modes were used commonly for 4-H staff and adult volunteers; for teen volunteers, in-person…

Ohio's Plan to Raise Literacy Achievement serves as a guide to promote evidence-based language and literacy teaching and learning for all learners from birth to grade 12. Literacy acquisition affects learners' access to, and interest in, content at all grade levels and in all aspects of their lives. In light of this, literacy is not treated as a…

Civic learning for all students seems like a reasonable and important aim for all schools to achieve. If we believe that the future of our American democracy depends on a citizenry that is informed, engaged, and responsible, what better place to create future citizens than in schools? The Campaign for the Civic Mission of Schools…

The authors argue that the ongoing research by the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the National Science Foundation are imperative. The findings and recommendations on what the school systems of America must do to develop specific educational programming will position the U.S. at the forefront of the world's economies if…

The dramatic evolution of computer and communications technology, coupled with an ever-increasing emphasis on cost-effectiveness, underscores the potential of technology-based learning (TBL), or elearning, in the public workforce investment system. The U.S. Department of Labor (the Department), Employment and Training Administration (ETA) launched…

This study presents an empirically-based statewide system that links information about pre-kindergarten programs with children's school readiness scores to certify pre-kindergarten classrooms as promoting school readiness. Over 8,000 children from 1,255 pre-kindergarten classrooms were followed longitudinally for one year. Pre-kindergarten quality…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 created the Reading First program to help ensure that all students could read at or above grade level by the end of grade 3. The program promotes practices recommended by the National Reading Panel for early reading instruction, highlighting essential components of reading instruction. As required by the…

The Arkansas Department of Education Co-teaching Project was designed to assist Arkansas schools in the implementation of more inclusive service delivery models for students with disabilities. The project began due to a need to increase the number of students being served in less restrictive environments, but evolved into a systematic statewide…

California Postsecondary Education Commission's (CPEC's) Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Program (ITQ) awards $8 million annually to support university-based teacher professional development projects. The program is funded by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. CPEC awards these grant funds through a competitive process involving…

This report presents findings from the third and final year of the Reading First Impact Study (RFIS), a congressionally mandated evaluation of the federal government's initiative to help all children read at or above grade level by the end of third grade. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 established Reading First (RF) and mandated its…