This module is designed to introduce educational leaders to an organizational assessment tool called a "culture audit." Literature on organizational cultural competence suggests that culture audits are a valuable tool for determining how well school policies, programs, and practices respond to the needs of diverse groups and prepare…

Recent explosion of online teaching has brought unique challenges for libraries as they strive to provide access to necessary resources and services for distance learners. These challenges are increased by the desire to provide the same level of library services to distance learners as to their on-campus counterparts. In response, many libraries…

Opportunities to interact with their school-aged peers gives young people an avenue for learning the social skills necessary to build healthy relationships, to interact at an acceptable level in a group structure and respect for the individual differences of others around them. These skills take on a greater importance after high school due to …

Compelling evidence from neuroscience about how early relationships and experience influence the architecture of the brain, and in turn early school success, has led to increasing policy and practice attention to implementing child development and family support programs like Early Head Start for infants and toddlers. But, there is also a group of…

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) stands at the forefront of contemporary efforts to create universal access to educational curricula for all students, including those with disabilities. The "universal" in UDL does not mean there is a single optimal solution for everyone. Instead, it underscores the need for flexible approaches to…

In considering science in afterschool, research was reviewed and is presented in this document on how students learn science; how science is assessed, particularly inquiry science; recommended practices for afterschool science; and current afterschool science programs. Databases such as ERIC, Wilson Web, and PsychINFO were searched using…

This paper focuses on the effects of the hurricanes on people with all types of disabilities. The National Council on Disability (NCD) released another report that addressed in detail the specific challenges for people with psychiatric disabilities. Please refer to "The Needs of People with Psychiatric Disabilities During and After Hurricanes…

The Full Inclusion Preschool Project (FIPP) was a collaborative, county/state funded grant that included: four non-subsidized preschools, seven school districts and university support. The four-year FIPP grant fully included a total of forty-five students with disabilities, two to five years of age, over a three year period. The preschools…

The paper offers ideas for assessing and teaching English language learners (ELL)--English as Second Language (ESL, 2L, CLD) learners--through dynamic evaluation using children's literature. Given the increased demands within the general education classroom, the teacher needs ways to combine assessment procedures with effective instructional…

Family day care providers are responsible for creating a high-quality program where children have opportunities to grow, learn and thrive. Part of providing high-quality child care includes complying with the family day care regulations from the New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS). This Handbook will help day care…

Updated for 2006, this comprehensive volume offers a snapshot profile of every public school district in the United States serving 1,500 or more students and provides pertinent evaluative and demographic statistics necessary to evaluate educational programs nationwide. "The Comparative Guide to American Elementary & Secondary…

The Aboriginal Learning Subcommittee looked specifically at developing recommendations that address First Nations, Metis and Inuit learning needs and supports. The Subcommittee proposes policy actions and recommends that all stakeholders work together to implement these actions. The first recommendation for action is to build on partnerships to…

To learn more about district and school decision making for No Child Left Behind (NCLB) restructuring, the Center on Education Policy (CEP) turned to California, a state with a substantial number of schools in restructuring and several state and regional supports for making decisions about restructuring. In the summer and fall of 2005, CEP…

This is the 8th annual report on conditions affecting the Racine Unified School District RUSD). Each study has confirmed that the Racine Unified School District (RUSD) faces greater challenges than its peers. Although these challenges have led Racine to spend slightly above the average amount per pupil, district performance tends to be below…

In the last twenty years, courts throughout the country have entertained claims relating to disparities in school funding. Early school finance suits sought to equalize "inputs" in terms of per pupil or overall expenditures. More recently, the advent of rigorous state accountability plans and the federal No Child Left Behind Act has…