Noting that investments in children are often the first casualties of lean state budgets, this advocacy "toolbox" offers information on the most pressing needs of New Hampshire children and on effective solutions. The toolbox begins with information on advocacy and characteristics of an effective child advocate; specifically, an…

The Early Childhood Education Network was created as a result of a year-long collaborative project between the National Association of State Boards of Education (NASBE) and the Policymaker Partnership to help states create an infrastructure to support the delivery of quality services to children and their families. The boards of education in six…

This report presents the results of a study that examined the role and activities of reform coaches. Positions for reform coaches have been developed in a number of schools and districts in the San Francisco Bay Area through the Bay Area School Reform Collaborative (BASRC). The study examined the reform coach role, the functions it provides to the…

In the past eight years, Chicago has created an excellent charter school model with help from across the city. Mayor Richard Daley supported the reform, Chicago Public Schools developed a thoughtful and proactive approval process, business and civic leaders championed the movement and provided technical support, and teachers and community groups…

This paper reports on Children Achieving, a systemic reform program implemented in 1995 to improve the Philadelphia public schools. Children Achieving was the first attempt by an urban district to test systemic reform in practice. The first part of the report discusses the beliefs and values of the program's action-design component, which…

Current rural policies at both the federal and state levels do not meet the needs of rural people and communities; they are designed for the past, not the future. Agricultural subsidies absorb most federal resources directed to rural areas, with no evidence of benefits for rural communities. The continuing state-level pursuit of low-wage,…

Big school districts promised to hold down costs by centralizing functions under one roof and delivering a greater selection of academic offerings and activities, thus improving education. But they have not delivered. Up to a certain size, consolidation can save costs, but above that size, districts experience "diseconomies of scale,"…

This is the report of the 2000 New Mexico Association of Community Colleges (NMACC) Strategic Planning Conference. Participants worked in small groups to identify the most probable and the most desirable world for the year 2000. Results for the most probable world include: (1) education would be available to many consumers, using many delivery…

This book provides an overview of the modal curriculum in teacher education, summarizing 29 teacher education reform proposals and examining six instructional approaches to teacher education. Chapter 1 describes the modal teacher preparation curriculum (general studies, content studies, professional education, integrative studies, and guidelines…

A study examining school contributions to community development collected data from five rural Australian communities via interviews with school and community members, documentation from school and community sources, and observation. Preliminary findings from two communities suggest that in both, the school was a key player in building and…

Bullying is a topic rarely talked about in a sustained, non-judgmental, and age-appropriate manner. The subject is also an under-studied phenomenon in the United States, in contrast with Britain, Norway, and Sweden. In the past, studies on bullying have focused on the pathology of the bully instead of on the whole school culture, or bullying has…

This is the master plan for De Anza College (California). It is divided into three parts: (1) the framework and the focus; (2) internal and external assessment; and (3) plans for the future. The paper uses the following indicators of quality to guide planning and budgeting for the next seven years: (1) attractiveness to students; (2)…

This booklet aims to help concerned citizens change laws and school funding systems to improve equity and adequacy for rural education programs. It will help readers gather the information they need, evaluate its meaning, put it in context, establish networks with others, and work with their legislatures and courts to solve the problems. Chapter 1…

This issue of a publication informing health policy and health care services in California in support of Proposition 10, the Children and Families Act, focuses on building community support for preparing children to enter school ready to learn through the use of Proposition 10 Commissions. These Commissions would help ensure that school readiness…

This discussion paper of the Youth Transition Funders Group synthesizes "the insights, inspirations and future directions" created over a five-year period "to frame policies and programs directed at our most vulnerable youth." (Contains 7 footnotes and 2 figures.)