SERVE offers a series of publications entitled "Hot Topics," research-based documents which focus on relevant issues of the day that are important in the region. This document, the first in a series of publications, is a practical guidebook to designing and developing youth apprenticeship programs to prepare noncollege-bound high school…

This report details enrollment in South Dakota colleges and universities as of the close of the second week of the 1995 Spring term. The tables present data by headcount and full-time equivalent enrollment. Opening tables show headcount enrollment for public and private institutions and public full time equivalent and headcount historical…

This volume contains personal reflections by four teachers in Texas on their year-long Trinity University intern teaching experience at Mark Twain Middle School, an urban professional development school in San Antonio. Part 1 by Corinne McKamey, "To understand teaching you have to be there, engrossed in the human interactions," is a…

This practicum was designed to address the problem of middle school students reacting to and handling conflict situations with violent behavior in an urban environment. These responses affected the well-being and safety of all middle school students at the school. The major goal was for middle school students to increase their awareness of…

Research shows that the labor market payoff to vocational education in high school is quite large when graduates work in the occupation for which they trained. Less than one-third of those who learn occupationally specific skills get training-related jobs. The occupationally specific skills learned are seldom used on a job due to lack of emphasis…

Utilizing a consensus decision-making strategy, teachers and an administrator from Parkway Central Middle School (PCMS) (Missouri) selected a two-part mission: (1) to establish an atmosphere where students demonstrate respect for themselves, their peers, and all adults; and (2) to evaluate, revise, develop, and implement a new discipline plan that…

This practicum was designed to empower a parents' organization through a unified effort. Primary goals for the parents' group were set. One objective was to defeat a small circle of politically astute students in the high school choir. In the previous year, those adversaries successfully influenced the school board on a parents' proposal for the…

This report compiles data on three 5-year federally sponsored dropout prevention programs: ALAS (Achievement for Latinos through Academic Success), the Belief Academy, and Check & Connect. The introduction to the report presents background information on the dropout problem and related issues that face youth with learning and emotional…

A study investigated how repetition was used in the telling of personal narratives to create emotional involvement on the part of listeners, to evaluate stories, to prevent listeners from asking questions and from losing the story's focus, and to justify narrating that particular story in a cross-cultural setting. It was assumed that narrators…

This handbook offers guidelines for the successful transition of students with disabilities into adult life and is designed to be used by everyone on the Individualized Education Program (IEP) team, including the student and family members. The first chapter provides an overview of the transition assessment process, including purpose and the laws…

This curriculum is designed to increase middle level students' understanding of positive leadership through ethical decision making, and to help them apply knowledge learned to realistic situations. The program objectives are to: (1) provide students with an understanding of the characteristics needed for positive leadership; (2) provide…

This unit presents students with dilemmas faced by U.S. policymakers with three distinct options for U.S. policy toward Japan. Background readings provide students with information on the U.S. decision to drop the atomic bomb on Japan in 1945. By exploring a spectrum of alternatives, students gain a deeper understanding of the values underlying…

This Kids Count report details county and statewide trends in the well-being of Oklahoma's children. The statistical report is based on eight indicators of child well being: (1) economic distress; (2) percent low birthweight infants; (3) infant mortality rate; (4) births to teens; (5) child abuse and neglect rates; (6) child and teen death rate;…

Parental involvement is critical to a child's success in school. This handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 7 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Education "Program of Studies: Junior High Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…

Parental involvement is critical to a child's success in school. This handbook provides parents with information about the Grade 8 curriculum in Alberta, Canada. Based on the Alberta Education "Program of Studies: Junior High Schools," the handbook describes the knowledge, skills, and attitudes students in Alberta are expected to…