In 2010-2011, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) launched the Apollo 20 Program in four high schools and five middle schools in the district as a "turnaround" initiative with an emphasis on improving student performance in math. The key strategies of the turnaround initiative included having effective principals and effective…

This paper describes the background to the establishment of "Accounting Education: an international journal," as well as an outline of its distinctive characteristics, including the international focus of the journal both in relation to the composition of its Editorial Boards and its authorship since its launch in 1992. A thematic…

APPA's highest institutional honor, the "Award for Excellence in Facilities Management (AFE)," recognizes those educational institutions whose facilities management organizations demonstrate quality in overall operations and effectiveness. The Award for Excellence is based on a set of criteria that include: Leadership; Strategic and…

Winners of the most respected prizes in children's literature speak out in an exclusive collection of acceptance speeches, culled from the archives of the Association for Library Service to Children (ALSC) and "The Horn Book" magazine. Featuring authors and illustrators selected during the past 10 years, the book includes speeches by: (1) Neil…

There is significant and growing interest in teacher pay reform as a number of states and localities have begun experimenting with departures from the single salary schedule--a pay system employed in most school districts, which links teacher pay solely to degree and experience level (Chait, 2007; Goldhaber, 2009; Podgursky and Springer, 2007).…

In the world of children's literature, analyses of the distribution and representation of gender, biological sex, and gendered behavior in picturebooks often focused on Caldecott Award-winning literature. As the most prestigious award for American children's picturebooks, titles that receive this honor have a profound influence on the field of…

This article presents highlights of APPA conference that was held on July 16-18, 2011. The highlights feature photos of 2011-2012 board of directors, outgoing senior regional representatives to the board, meritorious service award, APPA fellow, president's recognition and gavel exchange, and diamond business partner award.

Following a hugely successful pilot in Scotland in 2009-10, the joint Higher Education Academy (HEA) and National Union of Students (NUS) Student-Led Teaching Awards (SLTA) initiative has gone from strength to strength. SLTAs are a positive method of raising the profile of teaching and celebrating best practice. In just three years they have…

These minutes are the official record of the actions of the Association taken during the year by both the Board of Directors (the Board) and the Council of Representatives (Council). The roll of representatives was called at each Council meeting, and more than a quorum answered to their names. Reference is made in these minutes to various reports,…

In this article we will present findings from a national survey questioning the actual impact of the new governance structures at German universities on academic teaching. To begin with, we give a theoretical underpinning to the economization of higher education institutions (HEIs) according to Principal-Agent Theory. This allows for the…

In 2010, it's good to be Green. In the stampede to sustainable design, there are probably some Green features that have not received a lot of scrutiny, and some that may not apply to all projects. The author happens to have joined an institution with one of the larger Green office/classrooms buildings in the U.S. The University of Texas Health…

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, sponsored by the IRS, offers free tax services for individuals with low-to-moderate incomes, the elderly, disabled and/or those who lack English language proficiency. Although established by the IRS in 1969, it is administered by partnering community based volunteer organizations throughout U.S.,…

Electronic Portfolios (hereafter ePortfolios) were incorporated into courses run by the English Language Centre (ELC) at the City University of Hong Kong from Jan 2009 to Aug 2010. Experience with this innovation constitutes the substance of this report. Major challenges included: 1) Making the ePortfolio platform user-friendly by providing…

On January 12, 2006, the Houston Independent School District (HISD) Board of Education approved a teacher performance-pay program awarding teachers financial incentives based on three indicators of performance pay. These indicators involved group performance for teachers based on campus second grade comparative growth in mathematics and reading…

According to the Alabama Commission on Higher Education (2010), the overall state average retention rate for fall 2009 was 65% for all institutions and 54% for two-year colleges in, particular. Trenholm State has a retention rate of 51% percent. Since 2002, the College's retention rate has increased from 37 to 51% percent as a result of its…