In the 2004-05 school year, at a time of nationwide debate regarding the rigor of the high school diploma and the value of school-to-work programs, Chesapeake Public Schools (CPS) conducted an evaluation of the preparation of their students for the job market. The results of the evaluation did not substantiate widespread concern that the high…

Program Improvement (PI) and School Assistance and Intervention Teams (SAIT) programs place rigorous, narrowly defined requirements upon monitored schools and districts, with corrective actions typically written as both school-level and district-level interventions. The requirements, known as the Essential Program Components, aim to enable schools…

A significant issue existing within the rural economic development literature revolves around the difficulty with sorting out the controversy of the effects of amenity activities on rural economic growth. This problem is due to the different ways amenity attributes are linked to regional economic performance. Numerous researchers utilize principal…

Highlighting the need for a redefinition and redirection of social services for children and families, this report proposes a new model for social services that can enhance the development of children and the functioning of families. Two essential and interrelated components of the model described and discussed are: (1) supporting and expanding…

This product checklist can be used to determine whether a particular workplace literacy product (such as a series of instructional workbooks, curriculum guides, or computerized instructional systems), follows best practice and will meet the needs of a particular business firm and build the productive capacity of its employees. The checklist was…

This manual presents an overview of important safety considerations for instructors of vocational students with limited English proficiency. It begins with a review of the legal responsibilities of vocational educators to provide for student safety. The second part discusses the legal rights of limited-English-Proficient (LEP) students, and the…

This report describes progress made by Westchester Community College (WCC), in New York, on 23 strategic planning goals in the 1994-95 academic year. Information is provided on the following goals: (1) increase flexibility in operating the college; (2) increase flexibility in providing innovative academic and vocational programs; (3) upgrade…

National research suggests that 36% of full-time students enrolled in community and technical colleges and planning to stay in college for 2 or more years leave by the end of their first year and do not return to college over a 3-year period. While students' reasons for leaving are often unrelated to the college, the literature suggests that…

As part of an effort to improve its summer school offerings, Arkansas' Garland County Community College conducted a survey of summer school practices at the state's 23 other two-year colleges. Survey results, based on responses from all 23 schools, included the following: (1) 13 schools offered 2 sessions during the summer months, 7 offered 3…

Although student enrollments in cooperative education constitute only about 8 percent of all high school students, about half of all high schools provide such opportunities. In practically all co-op programs, the employer ensures supervision, on-the-job learning, and evaluations that will influence students' grades; coordinators have released time…

Traditional research on community college transfer students tracks students from the community college to the transfer institution, comparing the performance of students in various cohorts, such as demographic groups, majors in different curricula, and graduates versus early transfers. While these studies can provide interesting information, they…

Prepared as Book Three of a focused evaluation report submitted to the North Central Association (NCA), this document presents 18 appendixes to Books One and Two, describing activities implemented by New Mexico State University's two-year branch campus at Carlsbad (NMSU-C) in response to a 1992 NCA evaluation. The following items are presented:…

In a few years, the United States is going to have the largest number of teenagers it has ever had; at the same time, crime among teenagers is rising, and the recreational and learning activities and jobs that teenagers need for positive development are becoming scarcer in inner city and rural areas. Efforts in youth programs during the past 25…

An adequate description of the infrastructure system of adult literacy education needs to address three levels: national, state, and local. At the national level, infrastructure is currently shaped primarily by the Adult Education Act (AEA), amended by the National Literacy Act of 1991. Given that the AEA is a state grant program, state literacy…

Presenting information on the status of Southeastern Community College (SCC), in Iowa, this annual progress report highlights basic institutional data, financial information, and improvements and planned changes of the college as of 1995. Part 1 presents basic data on SCC, including facility locations, assessed property valuation, district…