The 1990s saw the outdoor education community undergo a process of critical redefinition as it attempted to address multicultural issues. This digest defines multicultural education, reviews the current status of multicultural diversity in outdoor education, poses questions for researchers and practitioners, and offers suggestions for relevant…

Although permanency planning has been a central focus of child welfare practice since the passage of the Adoption Assistance and Child Welfare Act in 1980, new requirements of the Adoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 encourage concurrent planning on reunification and another alternative such as adoption. This guide is intended to assist child…

This paper describes the District of Columbia Public School System (DCPS); articulates challenges it faced prior to standards based reform; presents strategies for reforming large urban systems' health and physical education (HPE) programs; and notes strategies for incorporating a standards-based performance-driven model. DCPS reading and math…

This paper begins with a discussion of information management as it pertains to the four operations of automated library systems (i.e., acquisitions, cataloging, circulation, and reference). Library staff reactions to library automation change are summarized, including uncertainty, cynicism, and resignation or hope. Common pitfalls that interfere…

This book examines transformational leadership and explores why such leadership can enhance the work of secondary-school leaders. It focuses on school leadership exercised in restructuring contexts. The text is divided into three parts: (1) the context for changing leadership; (2) transformational school leadership; and (3) beyond transformational…

Parents' use of logical consequences to their children's misbehavior can be an effective component of child rearing. Noting parents' need for a resource providing information on effective consequences, this book discusses the importance and use of consequences as a guidance tool for parents to use with children. The book lists common misbehaviors…

This transcript reproduces a Department of Education\College Board-sponsored discussion on ways to expand advanced-placement (AP) opportunities in high schools. The document contains the comments of panelists and presenters who described promising practices and strategies for preparing students for success, preparing teachers to lead instruction,…

This transcript reproduces a Department of Education/College Board-sponsored discussion on ways to expand advanced-placement (AP) opportunities in high schools. The deliberations opened with a presentation by Terry Peterson, Senior Advisor to Education Secretary Richard Riley, in which he focused on the importance of AP courses for minority and…

Recent expansion of media coverage of early childhood issues and increased funding for early childhood programs are due in part to deliberate efforts to increase public engagement in efforts to improve the lives of young children and their families. This brief describes recent early childhood public engagement efforts and outlines lessons for…

This paper addresses how community colleges should effect multidimensional, dynamic, and rapid change. It describes a three-stage paradigm of educational transition: (1) organizations cannot be changed by imposing an external model; (2) there is no objective reality outside an organization's culture; and (3) dynamic change is the result of…

The Children's Aid Society (CAS), one of the country's oldest and largest non-sectarian child and family welfare agencies, has 37 sites in New York with an annual operating budget of over $60 million. This annual report highlights the activities of the organization for the 2001 fiscal year and presents information on the work of CAS to complete…

In 1996, the Pew Charitable Trusts gave 4-year grants to seven urban school districts to help implement standards-based systemic reform. Several times each year, researchers conducted interviews to track progress in their reform efforts. This report synthesizes findings across all 4 years of the Pew Network. Overall, Network sites worked hard to…

Recognizing that social service agencies need to work in partnership with families for children's safety and well-being, this booklet addresses some common barriers faced by local, state, and national attempts at parent engagement by describing practical strategies for successful shared leadership. From examples of how incremental changes in…

For its sixth national conference, a national collaboration in support of school reform sharpened its focus by asking Houston Independent School District (HISD) to host the conference and serve as a "case study." HISD was an ideal subject because of a long history of addressing statewide standards-based reform and engaging in multiple…

This report provides an analysis of a 2-year study of 12 urban public schools in Canada. The purpose of the study was to examine the inner workings of secondary schools in low-income settings that create high achievement for their students. The schools were selected on the basis of their achievement on provincial, school-leaving examinations and…