For over 30 years, Foxfire has been developing an approach to learning that is learner-centered and community-focused. Foxfire's initial success resulted from a successful student-produced magazine in a rural Georgia high school. Attempts to duplicate this success often overlooked the key ingredients, student choice and academic integrity, that…

A key objective of a federally funded grant received by the Wake County Public Schools (North Carolina) was to develop new methods of assessment. The school district decided to fulfill this objective by developing student electronic portfolios. In spite of careful planning, the development of the electronic portfolios was filled with difficulties.…

In response to a Congressional mandate in conjunction with the Protection of Children from Sexual Predators Act of 1998, a committee of experts was formed to explore both technical and nontechnical strategies for protecting children from pornography and other inappropriate Internet content. This book summarizes a workshop held in December 2000 to…

This paper discusses the collaborative planning, implementation, and assessment processes that are shifting the educational focus in public schools and teacher education programs from how teachers teach to how children learn. It emphasizes the second year of a 3-year grant, in which a university and public school district are attempting to improve…

This is a report on indicators of success in achieving community college goals at El Centro College (Texas). The report provides statistics from 1997-2000 and focuses on the progress of nine goals: (1) institutionalizing service beyond expectation--according to student satisfaction surveys, campus changes that have occurred between 1996 and 1999…

Though less reliant on military images, women administrators have also used, and been required to use, battle models of leadership. Those who operate under different leadership assumptions have only recently received professional acceptance. The work of Carlos Castenada reveals how the Yaqui Indians trained their spiritual leaders (their…

Oklahoma's Comprehensive System of Personnel Development (CSPD) initiative was developed to meet requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. CSPD compensates for the state's geographic diversity through regionalization, which allows a grassroots approach to determining preservice and inservice training activities for special…

This final report discusses the outcomes of a project that gave outreach assistance to programs providing services to students (ages 3-16) with severe social, emotional, and behavioral disabilities. Programs receiving assistance from this project provided services to students in fully inclusive general education classrooms, in partially inclusive…

This study examined the Model Education Center (MEC) Professional Development School (PDS), formed by San Diego State University and a nearby school district in 1984. The study investigated whether core beliefs embedded in the PDS had a lasting effect on the teachers it graduated. Participants included teachers at three target schools; teachers…

States and localities face a range of issues related to English language learners (ELLs) or limited English proficient (LEP) students with disabilities, including referral and identification, service delivery, staffing, data collection and parent outreach. Much of the research has focused on the identification process and has shown that there are…

The federal Class-Size Reduction (CSR) Program, first authorized in PL 105-277, begun in Fiscal Year 1999, represented a major federal commitment to help school districts hire additional qualified teachers, especially in the early elementary grades, so children would learn in smaller classes. The ultimate goal of the program was to improve student…

Observes the changes in public education that occurred along the Wisconsin frontier. As the territory progressed, education changed from a winter-term only enterprise lead by male farmer/teachers to a full term lead by professionally trained women teachers. Identifies professionalization as the greatest influence on the feminization of teaching.…

To meet the challenges of student diversity, the Southwest Texas Center for Professional Development and Technology offers school-family-community partnerships with urban schools. Preservice teacher interns participate in field-based experiences where they interact with diverse students in various settings over a semester. They learn to handle the…

Argues that geography often is relegated to a negligible role in social studies curricula and that geography instruction suffers from a lack of standards and educational research. Recommends establishing intensive cooperative programs developing a thorough knowledge base for geography teachers and encouraging instructional research. (MJP)

To successfully implement in the United Arab Emirates the generally accepted principles of operation for professional development schools (PDSs), pragmatic modifications are needed to four major aspects of PDSs: the decision-making process; the need to build autonomous institutions; equity and reciprocity between school and university; and the…