High schools have responded to the poor labor market primarily by encouraging college-for-all policies, leading the majority of seniors to plan to get college degrees, even those who perform poorly. School policies focus too narrowly on academic achievement, overlooking soft skills like motivation, dependability, attention to quality, and social…

As a part of the teacher licensure program at the graduate level at The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC), the M.Ed. Licensure candidate is required to complete an action research project during a 3-semester-hour course that coincides with the 9-semester-hour student teaching experience. This course, Education 590 Culminating…

This document, which is based on the findings of case studies of how four high schools from across the country have successfully implemented the schoolwide career academy model, presents recent developments and best practices in schoolwide career academies. The document consists of a brief introduction describing the case studies and one chapter…

This report explores the impact, through themes that emerged in interviews with 59 participating adolescents, of the Mentor/Advisor Program on students with or at risk of emotional disturbance. The Mentor/Advisor Program is implemented as part of the existing regular education high school curriculum and is designed to promote resiliency and school…

This report contains six tables of summary statistics for the public schools of New York State, including schools in New York City. The public schools of New York served 2,637,745 students as of February 1994. Information about these students, their teachers, and the schools they attended, is presented in the following tables: (1) District type;…

Career academies are schools within schools that link students with peers, teachers, and community partners in a disciplined environment, thereby fostering academic success and mental and emotional health. The career academy concept includes the following three key elements: (1) small learning communities; (2) a college preparatory curriculum with…

Randolph County Vocational Technical Center, Elkins, West Virginia, received a grant in 1997 for a project that was part of the High Schools That Work (HSTW) initiative to improve academic skills of career-bound students. The superintendent and faculty knew that improving achievement meant reaching out to the three home high schools to bring them…

The Lansing Area Manufacturing Partnership (LAMP) is an academically rigorous, business/labor-driven school-to-career program in Lansing, Michigan, that includes business, union, school, and parent partners. The effects of participation in LAMP on transitions from school to higher education and work were examined in a longitudinal study that…

This Kids Count report examines statewide trends in the well-being of North Carolina's children. The statistical portrait is based on 20 key indicators of child well-being: (1) infant mortality; (2) low birth weight infants; (3) births to teens; (4) births to mothers with early prenatal care; (5) child deaths; (6) regulated child care enrollment;…

The Alberta Learning 2001/02 Employer Satisfaction Survey assessed 2,003 Alberta employers' satisfaction with graduates from Alberta's learning system. The results and survey methodology were considered accurate within 2.2%. According to the survey, 40% of employers have hired recent graduates from Alberta's learning system. Employers that have…

The San Francisco Beacon Initiative (SFBI) has been in effect in the San Francisco Unified School District since 1996. A collaboration of public and private funders, SFBI operates comprehensive after-school programs in six middle schools, one elementary school and one high school. Public/Private Ventures' (P/PV's) evaluation found that SFBI…

Multi-Age Teaming (MAT) programs were implemented at Crabapple and McNair Middle Schools in Fulton County, Georgia, in the fall of 1993, and at Camp Creek Middle School in the fall of 1994. An important goal of these programs was the creation of school families within schools with multi-age teams of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. At…

In fall 1993, administrators and faculty at the Crabapple Middle School in Roswell, Georgia, implemented the Multi-Age Team (MAT) program, creating multiage teams of sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students. The project's main goal was to enhance self-esteem. Additional goals included implementation of interdisciplinary, thematic instruction;…

Addressing the needs of English language learners, remedial readers, avid readers, gifted readers, dormant readers, reluctant readers, and readers in content areas, this book's goal is to help middle school teachers connect their students to reading. The book offers multiple lists of trade books that different types of middle school readers enjoy;…

This sixth annual edition of the West Virginia Kids Count data book examines county and statewide trends in the well-being of West Virginia's children, focusing on brain development and educational initiatives for children from birth to 3 years of age. The statistical portrait is based on 11 well-being indicators: (1) percent low birthweight…