With high school reform now a front-burner issue, districts and communities cannot afford to have high school after-school on the back burner. In this commentary, we focus on how and why the high school reform and after-school movements need to be woven together to produce a solid system of learning opportunities and developmental supports…

For more than 250 years, Americans have shared a vision of a democracy in which all citizens understand, appreciate, and engage actively in civic and political life. In recent decades, however, increasing numbers of Americans have disengaged from civic and political institutions such as voluntary associations, religious congregations,…

As long as students with limited English language skills have attended California schools a debate has raged among educators and policy-makers regarding how best to educate these children. A major focal point of this debate is bilingual education. That is, the viability, advisability, and effectiveness of using students' primary language in…

A project was developed in the Columbia, Missouri, public schools to use computer technology as a catalyst and support for systemic school reform to implement multiage grouping of students. Classrooms were grouped as grades K-1 and 2-3. This report includes all the formative evaluation data collected throughout the implementation of this project,…

It is argued that content-based teaching effectively teaches language skills while supporting development of critical thinking, intercultural communication, and student participation. The content provides cognitive and conceptual links needed for naturalistic language learning, and student participation in selection of content increases…

Despite professional counseling and courses on career choice in school, students say they are poorly prepared to meet society's challenges. This digest looks at a career counseling initiative in Canada that unites the academic world and the workplace. Clearer ties must be established between education and the workplace; in the collaboration-based,…

This manual is designed to help teachers gain comfort and confidence with the constantly emerging technologies that are entering the classroom. Teachers may not be able to control what technologies are put before them, but they can control how, and if, they are used. This book offers practical solutions for turning the computer into a valuable…

Technology Mediated Instruction (TMI) is an alternate mode of instructional delivery that provides several benefits. In addition to assisting information transfer through integration of course material, TMI fosters instructor-student interaction through methods such as interactive question-answer areas, video-based office hours, e-mail, and…

This study guide accompanies a poster series and documentary video about 12 American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian "women of hope." The women vary by age, education, profession, and geographic locale, but they share an unwavering commitment and dedication to their people's struggle to survive and flourish as distinct…

This book promotes an integrated curriculum to assist students in grades 6-9 in seeing the links between different subject areas and in a larger context, the direct relevance of what they are learning in school to their needs later in life. The book uses a problem-solving approach that is "technological" in nature: the book provides…

This report presents estimated data on the exit reasons for students with disabilities projected to leave Illinois public schools after the 1997-98 school year. The data were prepared by averaging the information provided by school districts regarding students who were no longer receiving special education services during the 1995-96 and 1996-97…

This report reviews existing research on the effects of high stakes tests on students, particularly students with disabilities. The review focuses on potential effects on the curriculum, student learning, attitudes and school climate, and the costs versus benefits of high stakes testing of students with disabilities. Results indicate that research…

A middle school teacher describes the process by which she discovered a collaborative approach to teaching writing to a class including English-as-a-Second-Language (ESL) students. To create a meaningful writing experience, she had students prepare a personal narrative, starting by having the class generate endings to the sentence beginning "I'll…

The New Britain Public Library (Connecticut) conducted a project that involved recruitment, collection development, tutoring, computer-assisted services, and English as a Second Language (ESL) services. The project served a community of 50,000-100,000 and targeted ESL learners. Tutoring was done one-on-one, in small groups, and in classes, using…

This paper identifies patterns in the academic and social development of six homeschooled students (with learning disabilities or giftedness) based on a seven-year longitudinal study of 100 home-schooled students. It contrasts findings on the effectiveness of home schooling with accepted expectations for special education students in the formal…