Every year, the Improving Teacher Quality State Grants Program issues a Request for Proposals (RFP) to award funds provided annually from the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. In recent years, each RFP has focused on a specific objective tied to state priorities in teacher quality. Six grants were awarded in 2008: (1) Bell Gardens Science…

This report provides a plan that teachers and school supervisors can use to implement seven tips for improving instructional skills. Designed to be referred to regularly, it includes three levels of implementation, as well as recommendations for utilizing technology to support each tip. The seven recommendations include: (1) Use technology to help…

Researchers in the Boston University Department of Environmental Health conducted a case study of the Boston Schoolyard Initiative, a project that provides funds and technical support to community groups dedicated to renovating schoolyards in Boston. Researchers described the process by which the Boston Schoolyard Initiative came into being and…

The lines between academic study and career and technical skills training are blurring. State and national leaders are beginning to recognize the transformational potential career and technical education (CTE) offers for such issues as secondary-postsecondary transitions, remediation, and the drop-out problem. At the national level, the National…

Organizational difficulties are major obstacles for many students with learning and behavior problems. These students often neglect to separate notebooks into various subject areas, forget to bring necessary items to class, and stuff assignments randomly into their book bags and pockets. Students' disorganization, including their inability to keep…

A four-year faculty development program to enhance geriatrics learning among house officers in seven surgical and related disciplines and five medical subspecialties at a large academic institution resulted in changes in attitudes and knowledge of faculty participants, expanded curricula and teaching activities in geriatrics, and enhanced and…

The sharing of new ideas for improving library services, a concern of every creative librarian, is the goal of this compilation of 156 novel and nontraditional approaches. The ideas are arranged alphabetically by key thought with a contents listing at the front of the handbook. Some are suitable for public libraries, some for school libraries,…

MANY LARGE CITIES ACROSS THE NATION HAVE CONCENTRATED AREAS OF FAMILIES WHOSE CHILDREN ARE SEVERELY HAMPERED IN THEIR SCHOOLING BY A COMBINATION OF COMMUNITY, HOME, AND SCHOOL CONDITIONS. IN ORDER TO ALLEVIATE SOME OF THE PROBLEMS, THE DETROIT PROJECT HAS DEVELOPED AND TESTED A FIVE-PART PROGRAM. PART ONE IS CONCERNED WITH TEACHER ORIENTATION AND…

Examples of study skills are described, strategies for teaching are suggested, and a method for implementing a study skills program is discussed. Locating and selecting important points, remembering information through note taking and outlining, and adjusting reading rate are included as study skills. Strategies for teaching include using texts…

This issue reviews publications that provide a starting point for principals looking for a way through the accountability maze. Each publication views accountability differently, but collectively these readings argue that even in an era of state-mandated assessment, principals can pursue proactive strategies that serve students' needs. James A.…

Maslow's Hierarchial Theory, Mcgregor's X & Y Theory, and Hertsberg's Hygiene Theory all based on motivation, are examined as to their effectiveness to increase worker production. The author feels management should not concentrate on motivation and offers his own theory, Spiral Web Theory, to help increase employee productiveness. (RB)

Ideas are presented on ways to upgrade the qualifications of today's teachers. (CK)

A program to improve the academic skills of San Francisco students and to encourage them to improve their attitudes and behavior met with success. (CK)

Describes a program at Kishwaukee Elementary School in Rockford (Illinois) designed to improve the effectiveness of this inner-city school. (Author/JM)

Without more unanimity about which characteristics contribute to a school's effectiveness, it is difficult to know which characteristics to use as a focus for improvement. (Author/JM)