In 1995, the Jobs Initiative, an 8-year, six-site demonstration project, was launched to attempt to improve access to family-supporting jobs for disadvantaged young adults in the inner city. The Jobs Initiative is providing seed money to develop and implement job strategies in six cities: Denver (Colorado); Milwaukee (Wisconsin); New Orleans…

This paper describes alternative assessments being used successfully at two elementary magnet schools in North Carolina and summarizes case studies of the assessment development process. Assessments, grade levels, school years, and school districts in the case studies differed, but commonalities in developing the assessments enabled the…

The Grade 11 High School Proficiency Test (HSPT) and the New Jersey Early Warning Test (EWT) are two key standardized tests that indicate academic ability of county high school graduates which colleges will need to address. While HSPT scores for county high school districts reflect a range of competency in reading, math, and writing, the majority…

This document provides a comprehensive list of best practices associated with effective and efficient programs for students with various disabilities: social/behavioral, sensory, physical, and cognitive and/or communicative. It is intended to assist in the design and implementation of least intrusive, chronologically age-appropriate, gender and…

This paper recounts how one urban-based university addressed the need for teachers to acquire the knowledge and skills required to take on increasing types of leadership roles. The university formed a partnership with a nonprofit organization to design and implement a 32-semester hour master's degree program to address the issue. The program…

Launched in 1994, Smart Start is the statewide early childhood initiative in North Carolina designed to ensure that every child "arrives at school healthy and ready to succeed." This guide provides a practical reference to the lessons learned from Smart Start as the program was developed and experienced from the local county partnership…

These volumes contain working papers related to the development of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Facilitated System of Expert Panels. Introductory papers by Susan Klein, Michael Scriven, Sharon Bobbitt and Susan Klein, and Michael Scriven and Lois-ellin Datta (printed in both volumes) set the stage for the discussions…

In the past decade, disappointing national outcomes have been reported regarding the transition of youth with disabilities to community and work environments. The transition outlook is even more dismal for rural youth with disabilities, in light of geographic barriers to special education service delivery, lack of jobs in rural areas, and rural…

Teasing is an attempt to look better at the expense of someone else. This abuse may be as mild as verbal bantering or as severe as group violence against others. The chronically oppressed student may conclude that school is a frightening and unfriendly place. Teasing has recently become the focus of psychological research and this paper provides a…

Three main questions guided this study: (1) What are the possible implications, positive and negative, from implementing an Ed.D. program at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU)?; (2) What were the conditions for teaching at other universities when an Ed.D. program was adopted?; and (3) What have been the long-term effects--positive,…

This manual provides a detailed outline of the innovative school-community collaboration between the New York City Public Schools and the Children's Aid Society of New York City to meet the pressing needs of children and families in the Washington Heights neighborhood. The manual describes the steps taken to develop the program of social services…

Focusing on successful management of the school library media center (SLMC) as a system, this latest edition of an authoritative work addresses and integrates the many trends and developments of the past decade while maintaining the vision of the SLMC as the nerve center of the media system--a network of services oriented to the educational…

This paper consists of four sections by different authors. Section 1: History of Honors at SUNY Rockland. (by Samuel Draper, founder of Honor's Program). Discusses the development of the honors program at Rockland Community College from the late 1960's. Honors courses originated in the late 1960's and in 1977 the college founded the Mentor…

This guide to standards and measures for compliance with the Perkins Act was developed by and for 29 community colleges in Michigan in order to provide accountability for planning and program improvement. The Perkins Act requires recipients of Perkins funds to evaluate the effectiveness of programs based upon a statewide system of standards and…

This second booklet aimed at stakeholders in South Africa's early childhood development (ECD) system focuses on two areas related to how learning in the country is going to be designed, assessed, and recognized by the National Qualifications Framework (NQF). Part 1 examines the new approach being established as the foundation of the country's…