One of our greatest educational challenges continues to be improving the education of English language learners (ELLs). Because many new teachers are underprepared and many veteran teachers wholly unprepared for teaching ELLs, school districts nationwide have initiated professional development programs for inservice teachers. In this article, the…

The American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) designed an invitational conference "Preparing, Retaining and Supporting a High Quality Teacher Workforce" held in October 2005. It was convened at the Wingspread Conference Center and brought together presidents and chancellors from universities, state education officials, and…

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 poses unique challenges for rural schools and districts. Small schools are more likely to be labeled as needing improvement due to the volatility of annual test scores for small student populations. Rural districts are limited in their capacity to provide parents with school choice, and rural districts face…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project designed to assist states in improving the quality of existing placements and services for individuals (birth through young adulthood) who are deaf-blind, and to increase the number of children, their families, and their service providers who will benefit from these services. The…

The primary purpose of this Connecticut state guide is to assist local school districts in developing quality programs in the visual and performing arts: dance, music, theater, and the visual arts. Because the guide presents goals and standards for student learning in the arts, as well as models of quality curriculum, it is also a useful resource…

This guide is designed as an aid for the adult education administrator in the pursuit of continuous excellence and quality improvement in adult education programs in Texas. The Acknowledgments section provides an introduction, background, history, and overview of the adult education National Reporting System (NRS); overview of the NRS measures and…

The purpose of this study was to compare and contrast Professional Development School (PDS) and non-Professional Development School intern/student teachers' views at the end of their student teaching experiences in terms of their (a) perceptions of the knowledge and skills they perceived the Teacher Education Program (TEP) at the University of…

This sixth edition of this book continues with its original perspective on instructional leadership. As in earlier editions, it brings perspectives of change, classroom practice, instructional leadership, adult development, staff development, evaluation, and political and social theory into the everyday life of schools. It is designed as a…

This final report describes the accomplishments and activities of a 5-year federally funded California systems change project supporting the development and replication of inclusive schools as part of the state's movement to provide the least restrictive educational environment for all students with severe disabilities. The project was a…

This packet contains materials for a professional development workshop series to prepare adult educators to design and implement instruction based on the SCANS skills, using a project-based approach to instruction. Session 1 is a full day, although facilitators may choose to make it two three-hour sessions. Session 2 is three and one-half hours.…

Facing History and Ourselves is an international educational non-profit organization that engages middle and high school teachers and their students in an examination of racism, prejudice, and antisemitism by relating the past to the world today. This annual report highlights the activities of this organization during 2002-2003. Detailed in this…

The intent of this "bottom-up" project was to create a community of learners to facilitate the implementation of computer technologies in the elementary school curriculum. The participants were 6 graduate students and their professor, 10 teachers (grades 1-5), their students, and the librarian in a Professional Development School. Each…

This paper analyzes the failure of a professional development school (PDS) initiative undertaken by a university department of education by using eight points from John P. Kotter's book "Leading Change," which describes conditions in business that prevent change and points to some necessary conditions for change to occur. The eight points and…

A study examined the extent to which Virginia Professional Development System (VPDS) components met practitioner needs and the degree to which they constituted an inquiry-based professional development system. Interviews with over 50 Virginia Institute for Lifelong Learning (VAILL) participants focused on their use of the Centers for Professional…

Papers in this collection focus on diverse issues in literacy ranging from motivation to wordless books to professional development schools. Papers in the collection, and their authors, are as follows: "The New Literacy and Reading Workshop: How Comfortable Is Too Comfortable?" (Jeanne Henry); "Fostering Reading Motivation: Insights…