In response to the Education and Economic Development Act of 2005 (EEDA), South Carolina has embarked on an exciting initiative called the South Carolina Course Alignment Project. In partnership with the South Carolina Department of Education and the South Carolina Technical College System, the project is led by the South Carolina Commission on…

Fifth grade students with learning disabilities receive a ten-week unit on learning styles and the special education process as part of their transition to the middle school. Developed by a learning center teacher and guidance counselor, the program is derived from the literature on self-determination and from the work of Mel Levine. The…

The study investigates the development of scientific communication skills in Further Education (FE) and Higher Education (HE) students studying science in the UK. Perspectives are gained from students and staff in both sectors. Evidence suggests that a mis-match in expectations exists and the onus may be on HE to explore more effective and…

In this update, the author notes the passage of the "Second Chance Act" by Congress--signed into law by the President on April 9, 2008. Programs created in law may or may not be immediately funded and implemented. The criminal justice community will be watching the appropriation process with interest to learn what Second Chance programs will be…

The authors discuss why challenging behavior tends to occur during transitions. They offer strategies for planning and implementing more effective transitions, ideas for using transitions to teach social skills and emotional competencies, and a planning process for working individually with children who continue to have difficulty during…

For students with disabilities, the opportunity to work in a supportive environment is one that can bring them, and their employers, great rewards. This article describes a program that started more than a decade ago at the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, which is giving students just that kind of opportunity through innovative…

This guide has helped put executive skills on the map for school-based clinicians and educators. The book explains how these critical cognitive processes develop and why they play such a key role in children's behavior and school performance. Provided are step-by-step guidelines and many practical tools to promote executive skill development by…

The Individuals With Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA) states that transition planning should begin at the earliest age appropriate and no later than age 16. IDEA requires schools to make collaborative efforts to provide students access to an array of postschool activities including integrated employment, postsecondary…

This study involved a pilot examination of the impact of the Supporting Early Adolescent Learning and Social Strengths (SEALS) model on the 6th grade academic and social context following the transition to middle school. Two middle schools from a high poverty Appalachian school district were randomly assigned to the intervention and control…

The nation's military-service academies could be stripped of one of their chief tools for bringing in black, Hispanic, and American Indian students as a result of regulatory changes being considered by the Department of Defense, officials of the U.S. Air Force Academy said last week. The proposed change in the department's directives to its…

Purpose: Although the nursing facility transition literature is growing, little research has analyzed the characteristics of individuals so assisted or compared participants to those who remain institutionalized. This article describes an analytic method that researchers can apply to address these knowledge gaps, using the Arkansas Passages…

In most families as children enter adolescence, conversations begin to include transportation as a way to gain greater independence. Teens naturally shift their interests toward friends, extra curricular activities, and earning money with part time jobs. Getting out of the house and developing a separate schedule from the rest of the family often…

Describes the Sioux Falls (South Dakota) School District's junior-first-grade program, which serves as a transition for children who have reached age six but are not yet ready for the first grade. Characteristics of children who might benefit from such an experience are listed. (WD)

Large school districts face a number of challenges due to their sheer size. One of these challenges involves staffing the role of the principal. With Baby Boomers reaching retirement age, large school districts, especially those experiencing growth, have to fill numerous leadership positions. In order to fill these positions efficiently and…

In 2007, the Basic Skills Initiative (BSI) was launched in California's 109 (now 110) community colleges. This initiative responds to an increasing awareness that state policies favoring "open access" also result in the enrollment of large numbers of students who are underprepared to succeed in college-level work. Identified as a key…