This planning guide presents an interdisciplinary team approach for improving career and vocational programs for youths with disabilities. The approach is an interdisciplinary planning process that involves identifying those things desired for students (best practices) and then working to integrate those things within the current continuum of…

To meet public scrutiny and increased demands for quality public education, schools must plan. Developing legitimate plans depends on the ability to recognize the patterns that guide current practice and uncover those that will create change. Educators need to understand the planning concepts that have helped business meet new challenges. To bring…

Fourteen British further education (FE) colleges were surveyed to identify issues/problems related to meeting national targets for education and training. Factors facilitating and inhibiting reaching the targets were determined. The colleges expressed concerns about several areas: data collection, congruence of targets, national centers, breadth…

In November 1983, the Utah Education Reform Steering Committee issued the report "Education in Utah: A Call to Action." To meet Utah's double challenge of rapid growth and quality enhancement, the report stated that Utah needed to: (1) increase the allocation of financial resources to education; (2) demand reforms in many aspects of…

Strategic planning can assist a rural school district to determine its future, rather than allowing others to determine it. Strategic planning is a discipline and a process that produces a results-based, action-oriented plan for the next 3-5 years. Organizations either ascend or decline, and strategic planning can help an organization create a new…

This paper aims to give partner states of the European Training Foundation material to help them assess the potential value of targets as a tool for reform. It begins with a definition of terms and a brief statement of the potential benefits of target setting. The 10 potential benefits are as follows: provide a focus for planning and action; test…

On October 22, 1998, Los Angeles City College's 70th anniversary, Dr. Mary Spangler was inaugurated as the 12th president of the college. In this, her message to faculty, staff, and family attending the event, Spangler revisits the college's past, citing historical highlights from each decade. She also focuses on the present state of the college,…

This expanded issue explores well-known comprehensive school reform models and provides tools and resources to assist school leaders in choosing reform programs. Case studies provide information about three well-known models: the Coalition of Essential Schools, the Paideia Program, and the Success for All Program. These reforms are discussed in…

The Office of Program Evaluation (OPE) of the Austin Independent School District (Texas) (AISD) is charged with evaluating federally, locally, and state funded programs in the AISD. OPE staff carry out mandated reporting for federal and state grants and are increasingly involved in formative evaluations designed for program improvement and…

This summary on transition planning provides ideas and information on how students, families, school personnel, service providers, and others can work together to help students with a disability make a smooth transition after leaving high school. It focuses on creative transition planning and services that use all the resources that exist in…

This report from the California Postsecondary Education Commission presents six proposals as its first priorities during the upcoming deliberations on the 1990-91 California State budget, along with three additional proposals if new monies become available. The proposals are as follows: (1) supporting full funding of the base budgets and…

This document outlines a workshop for media specialists--"School Library Automation: Solving the Puzzle"--that is designed to reduce automation anxiety and give a broad overview of the concerns confronting school library media centers planning for or involved in automation. Issues are addressed under the following headings: (1) Levels of School…

The Hawkins/Stafford Elementary and Secondary Education Improvement Amendment of 1988 (P.L. 100-297) promotes access to quality education for educationally deprived students and excellence for all children. School level program improvement is a major component of this legislation. This publication is a major component of this legislation. This…

The statewide goals and objectives of Tennessee's plan for educational excellence, the 21st Century Challenge, are outlined in this legislative committee report. The major initiatives under each goal will be implemented within 3 to 4 years. Goals and an example of the several objectives under each goal are: first grade readiness (e.g., require all…

The classroom teacher in preschool special education must focus attention in several areas in order to create a smoothly operating and effective classroom environment. Because most of the learning experiences provided for young children are dependent upon interaction with materials, attention must first be given to purchasing and gathering…