This paper describes Project SUCCEED (School University Community Coalition for Excellence in Education). The coalition includes the University of Miami School of Education, the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and the Miami Museum of Science. The goal is to provide a comprehensive approach to…

This paper presents an alternative means of assessing faculty teaching that can be used by administrators. This method has been derived from in-depth faculty and student interviews, and its criterion of quality has been validated with empirical data through computer sensitivity analysis. The assessment process has been successfully tested in…

This theme issue of the newsletter SEDLetter contains articles about the challenges facing rural youth, communities, and schools, and the ways that rural schools are meeting those challenges. "When Rural Traditions Really Count" (Ullik Rouk) outlines the rural situation with regard to adolescent substance abuse, youth gangs, teen pregnancy,…

This comparison of standards-based reform with rural school improvement efforts that emphasize locally responsive, place-based curricula reveals differences and similarities in the two movements. The standards-based movement is focused on setting state and national standards that all students must meet, suggesting a common curricular focus. Most…

This document contains proceedings of a conference that fostered discussion on how low-performing schools become successful. Principal speakers were Michael Cohen, Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, U.S. Department of Education, who spoke about the demand for increased performance and high standards; Dennis Parker,…

This paper describes the design and implementation of a networked professional development initiative for information literacy, run by DEDICATE (Distance EDucation Information Courses with Access Through nEtworks), a European Union-funded project under the Telematics for Libraries 4th Framework Program. Library and academic staff from five Central…

A team of preservice and inservice teachers, an administrator, and a university professor planned and implemented a collaborative action research study in a suburban middle school that was part of a Professional Development School. This study documented the growth of the group as a professional learning community. Data collection involved pre- and…

This article discusses the effects of the Regional Technology Assistance Program (RETA) on the teaching practices and collegial behaviors of its participants and instructors. It presents findings that suggest that, as a result of their involvement in RETA's ongoing, peer-directed, constructivist-based professional development workshops, teacher…

This paper describes a model for connecting the constructs underlying strong Professional Development Schools (PDS) with the infusion of standards-based technology; a model that can be replicated cost effectively and efficiently for both schools and colleges. Manhattan College, New York, collaborated with IN-TECH, a newly developed middle school…

This final report discusses the activities and outcomes of a project that addressed three challenges to improving outcomes for young children with disabilities: (1) a current and thorough synthesis of the knowledge base, (2) the effective translation and dissemination of this information for families, practitioners, and administrators, and (3) an…

In regional, rural, and remote areas of Australia, geographic and professional isolation take their toll on professionals, particularly in the first 5 years of practice. The attraction and retention of human service professionals and paraprofessionals in regional Australia is a significant problem affecting the sustainability and social cohesion…

This is an evaluation of the first 3 years of Project REALM (Reading English And Learning Mathematics), a project funded by Title VII. This project provides additional support to improve the quality of elementary education for new refugee students. Project REALM has 5 major objectives, including the following: (1) to increase participants' English…

Today, faced with the problems of global competition, increasing costs, and complex production engineering, a company can only be successfully managed if the employees are motivated and highly qualified. To cope with this demand the new educational scheme for cost-effective retraining, lifelong learning and distance education at the workplace…

This paper provides information about creating Professional Development Schools (PDSs) linked with university teacher preparation programs. It focuses on PDS programs in three regions of the United States at very diverse institutions, noting what has been learned from their experiences. All of the PDS partnerships in Towson University, Maryland's…

This paper examines the ways in which entities external to schools, in this case for-profit educational management organizations (EMOs), can influence the development of school professional community. Drawing on case studies of six charter schools operated by three EMOs, this paper examines the presence of the five elements of professional…