The Achieving the Dream (ATD) initiative works with more than 100 community colleges across the United States with the specific goal of increasing student success. Together, Achieving the Dream colleges graduate or transfer close to 250,000 students a year. With just a 5 percent increase in graduation rates, individuals can positively impact the…

Using data from Achieving the Dream: Community Colleges Count, this issue of "Data Notes" looks at students who returned to their original Achieving the Dream institution after completing credentials or transferring to another institution. Forty-two percent of students who either received a degree or certificate or transferred from an Achieving…

These four papers are from a symposium that was facilitated by Richard J. Torraco at the 1995 conference of the Academy of Human Resource Development (HRD). "Performance Technology--Isn't It Time We Found Some New Models?" (William J. Rothwell) reviews briefly two classic models, describes criteria for the high performance workplace…

From 1981 through 1983, 32 schools in 28 districts participated in the pilot study authorized by California's School Attendance Improvement Act. On the basis of that study, the first of this report's two chapters offers six steps for a comprehensive approach to improving attendance: (1) assessing actual attendance, (2) developing policies and…

This report summarizes the major findings and recommendations of the final evaluation of the State Dissemination Grants Program (SDGP), a major initiative within the mission of the National Institute of Education to assist state educational agencies (SEAs) in implementing, strengthening, and institutionalizing dissemination services that improve…

Problems in recruitment for big-time collegiate sports are updated, and an eleven-point improvement program is proposed. Statistics on football and basketball recruitment are updated, many through the 1985 season. New focus is placed on "blue chip" recruiting, and maps of recruiting by selected institutions, conferences, and states are…

This book presents an argument for school improvement and explains how it might be conducted. Three stages of evolutionary school improvement are identified and described: refinement, renovation, and redesign. It is suggested that the real task is not only innovating improvements; the real task is uniting teachers, administrators, and community…

The seven-member board of a Texas school district decided to scrutinize its own performance through a self-evaluation instrument used by each member to evaluate how the board functions, not how each individual functions. Benefits of board self-evaluation include reaffirmation of the board's role, encouragement of board harmony, and identification…

This paper describes an inservice training project in Colorado funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF). The goal of the project is to create a self-sustaining and expanding network of trained leaders in geographic education. The project addresses: (1) the need to improve and expand the geographic literacy of U.S. citizens; (2) the…

Replicating Success, a school improvement program in Philadelphia, is designed to raise the achievement level of all students in 30 selected, racially isolated, low achieving schools. Each school undertakes an extensive needs assessment process and then develops an individualized schoolwide plan which takes into account the characteristics of…

Efforts to improve the quality of business communication often include developing tailor-made short courses that are offered "in-house" to corporation management personnel. These following guidelines, based on one corporate writing teacher's experiences, should help others to develop writing courses for businesses: obtain samples of the types of…

Through a comparative analysis of nine urban school improvement projects, it illustrates the association between patterns of constituent collaboration in the design of intervention projects and problem solving strategies and the degree of mutual adaptation, incorporation, and sustained project effectiveness. Many of the barriers to school…

This report describes the development of two British projects designed to increase support to persons paid to care for unrelated children in their homes, and to improve the quality of childminding. Informal Drop-In Centres offering stimulating play experiences for the children under the guidance of a trained playleader/community worker were…

This illustrated booklet describes the scope and objectives of state-sponsored library media improvement programs in Oklahoma which are geared to aid school library programs at the elementary level. Personnel, facilities, materials, equipment, and services are briefly discussed, and a map of project sites is provided. (FM)

ARTICLES INCLUDED IN THIS DOCUMENT ARE--(1) "EXPERIENCES OF SOME SECOND GRADE TEACHERS IN MODERN MATHEMATICS," (2) "THE TORCH OF LEARNING," (3) "TEACHING TRAINABLE MENTALLY RETARDED-DEQUEEN PUBLIC SCHOOLS," (4) "TEACHER READINESS TAKES TIME, MONEY, PARTICIPATION," (5) "ATTENDING SCHOOL VIA…