A rural Vermont school district instituted needed and desired changes during a 3-year improvement effort. A 1982 needs assessment evaluated school performance in seven areas found to exist in effective schools. Change efforts followed three principles: all curriculum and policy changes were done on a district-wide and K-12 basis, teachers were not…

Designed to supplement a short course for middle school children and their parents, this manual provides sets of learning experiences about electronic communication devices. The program is intended to develop positive attitudes toward science and technology in both parents and their children and to take the mystery out of some of the electronic…

The nighttime astronomy course described in this manual is designed to allow parents and middle school children to learn together. Using the resources of the planetarium and the real sky, the document provides a series of lessons that are intended to enable the participants to become more knowledgeable observers of the night sky. The course is…

Proceedings of three regional conferences on the quality of American higher education are presented. Sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, these conferences consisted of round-table discussions concerning recommendations from the national report "Involvement in Learning," as well as strategies needed to…

Written for American Indian parents, this fact sheet offers basic suggestions for building good parent-school relationships and helping children succeed in school. The first issue addressed is the education of children before they start to school, and the emphasis is on developing pride, self-confidence, and a desire to learn and do new things.…

The Environmental Quality Instructional Resources Center in Columbus, Ohio, acquires, reviews, indexes, and announces both print (books, modules, units, etc.) and non-print (films, slides, video tapes, etc.) materials related to water quality and water resources education and instruction. In addition some materials related to pesticides, hazardous…

This handbook is designed to explain the structure and the existing regulations and procedures of the programs affiliated with the Parent Education Program at Columbia Basin College (CBC), Washington. Purpose of the program is to give parents the opportunity to increase their understanding of children. Section I addresses the importance of parent…

Because independent reading builds the foundation for long-term literacy, administrators must encourage teachers to create a positive attitude toward independent reading in school. Five guidelines can help influence teachers' attitudes toward independent reading: (1) share valuable information concerning independent reading, including current…

In the past 15 years a new curriculum field known as "Science, Technology, and Society" or STS has been established, first in higher education and since 1982 in K-12 education. The first section of this review charts the development of the STS field since the late 1960s. Throughout the 1960s and 1970s a group of writers, called STS prophets,…

Testimony presenting the views of Hispanic community organizations supports proposed federal legislation focusing on early childhood education programs. Education is the single most important issue listed in surveys of the Hispanic community. The reasons for this concern include the following: (1) Hispanics comprise the largest and youngest school…

The Significant Bilingual Instructional Features (SBIF) study identified, described, and verified features of bilingual instruction of a wide variety of limited English proficient (LEP) students. It collected data on instructional organization, time allocation, classroom language use, active teaching behaviors, academic learning time, student…

This project proposes the development and implementation of a model system for collecting, documenting, and reporting to the Atlanta (Georgia) Board of Education information that will indicate the number, ages, and grades of students dropping out of the Atlanta Public School System (APS). Furthermore, this project will demonstrate an effective…

This compilation brings together various conference papers and a working group report on the topic of residential services for people with deaf-blindness and other profound disabilities. The title paper by Lyle T. Romer describes three measures for evaluating residential programs: capacity, progress, and lifestyle. Valued outcomes of a residential…

The purpose of this report is to compare the freshman experience of commuter and residents students at the University of Maryland, College Park (UMCP) who were studied as part of the Maryland Longitudinal Study. Residents, dependent commuters, and independent commuters in the Representative Sample (434 students representing all ethnic groups at…

This report presents an overview of performance differences of Montgomery County Public School students and informs staff of important data sources. The report relies heavily on data from the Department of Educational Accountability going back to 1978. The Executive Summary presents, in chart form, the areas covered, the questions addressed, a…