Model Policies in Support of High Performance School Buildings for All Children is to begin to create a coherent and comprehensive set of state policies that will provide the governmental infrastructure for effective and creative practice in facility management. There are examples of good policy in many states, but no state has a coherent set of…

This report describes public participation in the arts across the four U.S. census regions: the Northeast, the Midwest, the West, and the South. It incorporates data from the 1982, 1992, and 2002 Surveys of Public Participation in the Arts, as well as secondary data on regional demographics, the arts landscape, and consumer spending. In…

This handbook for Iowa school districts was first published many years ago. Since that time, several significant sociopolitical and educational changes have occurred. For example, there has been an increase in the number of languages and cultures represented both in Iowa and in the political arenas of the nation. Immigrants and refugees from…

"Too Good for Drugs"[TM] is designed to promote life skills, character values, resistance skills to negative peer influence, and resistance to the use of illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco. The program, which targets elementary and middle school students, is based on classroom discussions and structured activities that center on…

Parental and community involvement in Title I schools is limited by occurrence and the absence of positive motivation. When parents are involved in the life of a school, children receive the message that education is important and the school is a vital commodity. With this involvement, a culture is developed that encompasses the children,…

This paper defines active citizenship as a fundamental aim of democratic society that enables all citizens to participate as fully as possible in cultural, economic, political, and social life. Adult education is recommended as a forum for promoting active citizenship and, since participatory democracy is learned through practice, should be an…

The purpose of this paper is to review professional literature to identify barriers for school success for students with disabilities in rural communities and to provide ways to breakthrough these barriers. The author suggests a new, powerful and practical way to make rural education a leader in the nation: Get ahead, Get technology! Table 1…

This issue of Keying In, the newsletter of the National Business Education Association, focuses upon teaching young adults how to develop both investment strategies and an understanding of the stock market. The first article, "Sound Investing Know-How: A Must for Today's Young Adults," describes how young adults can plan for their own…

This publication provides information that can support parents in their efforts to assist their young children's literacy development. Provided in a format that can be copied, these "literacy tips" are supplied for these three age groups: ages 0-3, ages 4-6, and ages 7-8 and are preceded by lists of ideas for using them in a family literacy…

This information brief on the successful transition of students with disabilities to postsecondary educational settings focuses on the importance of the student's full participation in the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process during secondary school and the student's developing understanding of differences between secondary and…

This guide helps parents understand the issues of teacher quality, suggesting ways they can strengthen teacher quality in their children's schools. In order to ensure that students meet new, higher standards, teachers must be better prepared to promote high levels of learning for all students. Research has shown that many teachers do not feel…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of the Self-Determination Synthesis Project (SDSP), a project designed to synthesize, corroborate, and communicate the professional knowledge base on the effects of self-determination and self-advocacy interventions for children and youth with disabilities. The SDSP used both quantitative and…

This report describes Philadelphia, Pennsylvania's, Alliance Organizing Project (AOP), which organized parents and families of Philadelphia's public school students to become full partners in Philadelphia school reform. It is one of five case studies in the Indicators Project on Education Organizing, which identified eight indicators of the impact…

This book demonstrates how high achievement can exist in high-poverty, high-minority schools. By drawing on the best practices of 13 exemplary schools, the book highlights the specific means by which ethnically diverse (namely, African American and Latino) students can attain educational success. The book offers seven strategies for principals to…

This brochure, written in Spanish, discusses strategies that Spanish-speaking parents can use to support the interests of their children and how to recognize and extend their children's talents. Parents are urged to: (1) be aware of what their child likes to do and be patient with the changing patterns as the child explores areas of interests and…