Two schools in Michigan received ARRA SIG (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act School Improvement Grants) funds to enable them to implement their improvement efforts. This paper describes the outcomes of these two ARRA SIG recipient schools: (1) Phoenix Elementary-Middle School; and (2) Arthur Hill High School. The experiences of these…

Schools that become part of the "Making Middle Grades Work" network are expected to use the middle grades comprehensive improvement framework to show progress in changing school and classroom practices in ways that advance student achievement. True school reform is not a quick process. It is a continuous effort to make purposeful and planned…

Introduction: The American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) recognized that certification and recertification must be based on an assessment of performance in practice as well as an examination of medical knowledge. Physician self-assessment of practice performance is proposed as one method that certification boards may use to evaluate competence…

"Background": Clinical trials have shown that behavioural treatments based on variants of prolonged-speech (PS) are best practice for reducing the stuttering rate in adults. However, while stuttering is significantly reduced or eliminated for most adults in the short-term with such treatment, relapse in the longer-term is common. Consequently,…

Career and technical educators have long recognized the fact that a highly skilled craftsperson is not necessarily a highly skilled instructor of that craft. In the belief that the key to a productive, efficient workforce lies in high quality training for journeymen and apprentices, the Carpenter's International Training Fund (CITF) partnered with…

An electronic performance support system (EPSS) is a computerized system designed to increase productivity by supporting the performance of the worker on demand at the time of need. This way, workers are allowed to perform with a minimum of intervention from others. Popular examples of performance support tools, or partially implemented EPSSs,…

This guide offers a comprehensive set of practical tools to lead novice and veteran practitioners through the complexities of business process redesign. This hands-on kit integrates systems theory, economics, and psychology to provide the detailed procedures, checklists, data analysis worksheets, and other resources essential to identify, analyze,…

The processes of school improvement at the secondary level are not well understood. This report summarizes activities conducted during 1990-91 in the Asheboro (North Carolina) City Schools in cooperation with personnel at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The partnership created Teacher Collegial Groups (TCGs), which were leadership…

The stated purpose of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational, Technical, and Applied Technology Act is to make the United States more competitive in the world economy by developing more fully the academic and occupational skills of all segments of the population. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) proposes to achieve this purpose by…

This guide, intended to help rural educators improve their school or district, connects general knowledge about educational change efforts and knowledge about conditions and characteristics specific to rural education. Chapter 1 discusses common strengths and weaknesses of rural schools and describes values and social patterns in small schools and…

In April 1993, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) conducted a survey of its members to update information gathered in 1991 about the existence of quality improvement programs and the use of quality improvement processes in research libraries. A total of 91 responses (76 percent) was received to the 13 questions of the survey. Fifteen (16…

A study examined implementation of the Redwood worker assistance programs implemented to help mitigate the loss of jobs by timber workers in Northern California upon expansion of the Redwood National Park in 1978. The benefits provided to workers under the Redwood Employee Protection Program (REPP) were generous. As of December 1988, REPP had…

The ideal school cafeteria includes a salad bar and serving tables with healthy food items. Certain cafeteria pitfalls, such as a noisy or stuffy atmosphere, can be avoided by good administration. Specific guidelines on campaigning for better school food consist of building a community coalition that holds public meetings, learning about the…

This monograph describes the origins and implementation of a Federal educational program, the Inquiry and Assistance Project (IAP), designed to improve urban public schools through the efforts of researchers and consultants in a research and development setting. The first section provides background information on the IAP study. Section two…

In nine chapters, this guide provides planners of professional development programs for school administrators, directors, and supervisors with background information for assistance with the design of local entry-year programs and activities by employing school systems. In chapter 1, the legal basis for entry year programs is examined through a…