A school librarian and book reviewer argues that buyers, reviewers, editors, and publishers need to look more carefully at series books. Discusses series and reviewing tools and ways reviewers can help colleagues make the best choices for students. Recommends two social studies series, and suggests questions to ask when buying series books. (PEN)

Describes an author's surprise at finding her children's book in a banned books collection in a bookstore window. Argues against certain types of censorship. (RAE)

Tested hypothesis that demographic shortages of suitable marital partners influences women's marital decisions. Found that a favorable marriage market--the relative number of men to women--increases the odds of marrying a high-status man compared with a low-status man (as measured in terms of education and occupation). (RJM)

Tests hypothesis that, relative to people who marry later in life, persons who marry young will be especially susceptible to divorce when confronted with abundant alternatives to their current spouse. Using a national longitudinal survey and census data, found no support for this hypothesis. Other findings are discussed. (RJM)

Reviews processes involved in community college faculty recruitment, including justifying the new position, recruiting methods, evaluating applicants, and arranging candidate visits to the campus. Discusses changes in standards for recruiting and hiring from the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act and implications for practice. (21 citations)…

Integrates strategies and suggestions from professional books and articles to provide educators with an overview of components of the textbook selection process. Organizes the smorgasbord into three sections: the salad bar (initial screening), the main course (examination of textbooks), and the dessert bar (plans for implementation of the textbook…

Five presentations made at the 1990 American Library Association (ALA) annual conference discuss the role of book reviewers of young adult literature. The question of censorship is addressed from the points of view of editors, librarians, and reviewers, and the influence of reviews on the librarian's selection process is considered. (LRW)

A periodical database was searched to investigate the occurrence of favorable and unfavorable book reviews to determine the role of reviews in library selection. Compares book reviews with other types of reviews, examines relationships between review evaluations and other review characteristics, and compares the number of favorable and unfavorable…

Outlines the usefulness of a book club for elementary school teachers and reading supervisors on the topic of the teaching of reading. Discusses choosing topics for discussion, organizing the club, and forming a community of learners. Stresses the importance of reading across the curriculum. Argues that such a reading club can also assist teachers…

Professors have long assigned to their students works of which they were the author. The practice ranges from assigning commercially published textbooks they have written to having students buy a volume they have written and published or course packs made up of their own materials they have photocopied. Not only individual professors, but also…

Staffing each classroom with an effective teacher is the most important function of a school district. Doing so requires strategic personnel policies and smart practices. This analysis reviews the Seattle Public Schools' teacher policies linked most directly to teacher effectiveness. Ten policy goals frame the analysis. Each of these goals is…

The research literature suggests that the existence of trust and strong working relationships between staff are precursors for school improvement (Bryk & Schneider, 2003). Without strong social relations or feelings of trust between school leaders and faculty, school improvement efforts can fail. Within high schools, principals have a critical…

The Texas Educator Excellence Grant (TEEG) program was state-funded and provided annual grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans during the 2006-07 to 2009-10 school year. This report builds on the previous TEEG evaluation reports, presenting findings from three years of the TEEG program. Overall, the report discusses the…

In the winter and spring of 2008, The New Teacher Project (TNTP) partnered with San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to investigate the impact of the school district's policies and practices on the ability of schools to build and maintain strong instructional teams. TNTP's analysis reveals that schools struggle to build and maintain…

The quality of job outcomes achieved by youth with disabilities who are transitioning into employment varies widely across the country. Special education teachers, youth with disabilities, families, community rehabilitation program (CRP) staff providing employment services, and others involved in assisting transitioning youth can benefit from a…