This book offers resources for resiliency education and an action plan for building inner strength and flexibility in students and staff. Eight chapters include: (1) "Resiliency Defined" (e.g., risk research versus resiliency and using the six-step resiliency wheel); (2) "How Schools Foster Resiliency in Students" (e.g.,…

This brief paper on promoting the self-determination of students with severe disabilities begins by identifying barriers to training in self-determination skills, such as a perceived lack of student benefit and insufficient staff training. The question of whether students with severe disability benefit from instruction to promote…

This publication summarizes the proceedings of a Montessori colloquium on adolescence, designed for trainers and practitioners to find common ground between the theory of Erdkinder (observing children and, accordingly, creating a suitable environment) and practice as seen in current Montessori secondary programs. Opening remarks on the need for a…

Educational paraprofessionals can provide strong, multidimensional support for students' academic success. The first part of this book presents information on roles for education paraprofessionals in effective schools, focusing on the history of paraprofessionals as multifaceted members of the schools staff, the work of paraprofessionals, how to…

This brief two-page policy statement presents the Charleston County (South Carolina) School District Board of Trustees reading policy. It begins by noting that the district will emphasize early literacy development, reading across the content areas, and interventions for struggling readers, and that schools shall be responsible for designing and…

Scotland Against Drugs, a privately funded partnership, launched a national staff development program known as the Primary School Initiative (PSI). The initiative provides an opportunity for schools and local authorities to evaluate their drug education efforts. The training encourages teachers to develop their own drug education policies and…

With employees in many organizations now expected to act as if they are self-employed in order to preserve their employability, managers need to assume new responsibilities to provide career coaching. Some outputs of career coaching are education of staff in career self-management, guidance of staff in the use of career analysis and planning…

This paper reports activities and accomplishments of a practicum which implemented school-wide staff training in a systematic crisis intervention approach, Life Space Crisis Intervention (LSCI), with junior high school students who have emotional disturbances. The 8-month implementation involved two inner-city, special education public school…

Once they begin kindergarten, America's children are taught by professionals with at least a four-year college degree. Prior to kindergarten, their teachers are far less prepared. Fewer than half of preschool teachers hold a bachelor's degree, and many have never even attended college. Noting that new research finds that young children's learning…

This policy guide explains that every state and school district needs policies addressing serious issues raised by human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection. Chapter 1, "Developing Policy," discusses why policies are valuable, at what level policy belongs, and whether policies should be specific to HIV. Chapter 2, "Policy…

This handbook focuses on intellectual freedom as it relates to school library media centers and public libraries. The purpose of this handbook is to help public libraries and school districts develop and adopt necessary policies and procedures that will build a solid foundation for intellectual freedom as part of the community and school climate…

Youth Change presents on site workshops to train staff to deal with youth with problems. This workbook introduces the Youth Change curriculum and workshop, outlining some of the ways the program promotes social skill, school skills, and coping skills and introducing the Youth Change structured curriculum. Eight sample lessons are presented with…

This training guide for a one-day workshop provides an introduction to the William D. Ford Federal Direct Loan Program for administrative personnel at higher educations institutions. The seven sections of the guide, each corresponding to a single workshop session, include activity sheets, questions for participants to answer, and space for notes.…

This report presents a case study of the World of Wonders Accelerated Learning Community School (WOW). A community school in Ohio is a new kind of public school-an independent public school that is nonsectarian and nondiscriminatory. The report presents three contexts for the study--historical, local and methodological--and highlights some of the…

Teaching all students to high standards may not be achievable with the way the vast bulk of schools in the United States are organized and managed. Under current school structures and management practices, marginal improvements are possible; significantly raising student achievement is not. Accomplishing this requires dramatic improvements that…