"Straight A's: Public Education Policy and Progress" is a biweekly newsletter that focuses on education news and events both in Washington, DC and around the country. The following articles are included in this issue: (1) Governor Bush Signs Middle Grades Reform Act, Sends 250 Reading Coaches into Florida Middle Schools; (2) The…

This report offers a series of transcript-based portraits of traditional-age community college students. As of 2001, students under the age of 22 constituted 42 percent of all credit-seeking students in community colleges and those under the age of 24 constituted nearly three-fourths of first-time community college students. As the baby-boom echo…

In 2003, the Lumina Foundation for Education launched a major initiative, "Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count," to increase student success at community colleges. The initiative focuses on colleges with high enrollments of low-income students and students of color. In the first round, 27 colleges in five states were selected.…

This report investigates the medium-term outcomes of vocational education and training (VET) programs delivered by rural schools for youth and their communities. Former students from six rural school clusters in six states were surveyed, including those who participated in school VET programs and those who did not. Principals and school VET…

The gender dimensions of direct participation in organizational change were examined in a survey of general managers at 32,582 workplaces in the following European countries: Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Responses were received from 5,786 managers (response rate,…

The equality of the opportunities available to males and females in Germany's labor market was examined. The study compared employment patterns among women and men and the extent to which selected discretionary benefits of Germany's Federal Employment Service benefit women and men. Selected results were as follows: (1) women are under-represented…

The question of whether the term "intermediate skills" has a distinctive meaning across business and industry in the United Kingdom and in its major competitors was examined. The study focused on the following sectors: housing construction; broadcasting; the care sector; the exercise, health, and fitness sector; and engineering (high…

The Southern Regional Education Board's (SREB) Making Schools Work (MSW) initiative works with clusters of high schools and their feeder middle grades to raise student achievement in rural areas. MSW is based on the belief that all students can complete an "advantaged" curriculum, although some students may require more time,…

This report highlights findings from the National Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS), a study funded by the U.S. Department of Education that charted the life experiences of nearly 25,000 students from public and private schools from the time they were eighth graders through their mid-20s. "Values Added: The Lifelong Benefits of an Independent…

This paper describes the national, state, and local contexts in which California (CA) is implementing School-to-Career (STC). Section I presents an historical view of School-to-Work (STW), describing national goals of the STW Opportunities Act 1994 (STWOA), and also discusses CA's STC efforts. Section II provides contextual information about STW…

This book answers more than 70 key questions that business managers and trainers ask about using e-learning in their company as a business tool. Chapters 1 and 3-11 are comprised of questions and answers related to these topics: what e-learning is all about; what e-learning costs; applying e-learning to the business; what today's e-learning…

More than half of the world's population, and more than 70 percent of the world's poor live in rural areas where hunger, illiteracy, and low school achievement are common. Education in rural areas is crucial for achieving sustainable development. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations and UNESCO's International Institute…

The Youth Offender Demonstration Project (YODP) combined oversight of youth offenders with services to support youth offenders' passage into the word of work by providing recommended social development strategies for youth offenders. YODP demonstration projects were funded in the following categories: (1) model community projects; (2) education…

Career clusters are part of a response to changing work and a changing workplace, a way of broadening the focus of secondary career and technical education (CTE). The following are some of the changes in work and the workplace: the nature and structure of work; leadership styles and organizational structures; the knowledge and skills needed;…

The Workforce Investment Act of 1998 (WIA) requires Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) to establish Youth Councils as a sub-group focused on low-income youth at risk, ages 14-21, who face barriers to school completion. Youth Councils present an opportunity to develop a comprehensive employment and training system. The WIA's vision of a…