In 2005, the Hildago (Texas) Independent School District, in partnership with the University of Texas-Pan American, the University of Texas System, the Communities Foundation of Texas/Texas High School Project, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, promised that all of its students would earn college credits before graduating from high…

Young people with learning difficulties who go to residential special schools and colleges are highly vulnerable, often living a long way from home. Transition towards adulthood--from school to college, or college and beyond--requires careful planning and support for both young people and their families. Despite national policy and guidance in…

As a pilot site selected to participate in Illinois' Shifting Gears (SG) initiative in 2007, Oakton Community College (OCC) partnered with Presbyterian Homes to develop a bridge course to prepare a cadre of their employed Certified Nursing Assistants (CNAs) to enter college-credit prerequisite courses to a Practical Nursing program. Oakton…

Students transitioning to inquiry-based laboratories are often initially reluctant to participate. Having to critically examine problems, share their insights with unfamiliar peers and instructors, and choose how to proceed can be daunting for many students. Their hesitancy is exacerbated by their uncertainty of the scientific principles involved.…

The revisions to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 require that career and technical education (CTE) programs provide students with a clear pathway from secondary to postsecondary education, and into high-wage, high-skill and high-demand careers. States nationwide are developing programs, called career pathways, to…

There are many approaches to solving the problem of underrepresentation of some racial and ethnic groups and women in scientific and technical disciplines. Here, the authors evaluate the association of a summer bridge program with the graduation rate of underrepresented minority (URM) students at a selective technical university. They demonstrate…

In 2007, spurred by University of Chicago Consortium on Chicago School Research (UChicago CCSR) research reports, leadership at the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) began a new targeted approach to reducing course failure in the ninth grade. The research suggested that the transition between eighth and ninth grade played a critical role in shaping…

This study examined programming practices that have identified in the research as critical for school success for students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD). Secondary purposes of the study were to identify the extent to which these practices were used and to examine student social/emotional and academic outcome data in a public day…

Students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD) and those with challenging behaviors are often served in alternative education (AE) settings due to behavior that interferes with their learning and the learning of others to a degree that warrants placement outside of the traditional, neighborhood school environment. Placement in AE…

This research study used a student-focused questionnaire to gain understanding about high school students with intellectual disabilities who participate in community-based instruction (CBI) as a component of their transition planning. The participating students have intellectual disabilities, range in age from 16 years old to 22 years old, and…

Multiage programming is a school reform option used throughout the United States. Much of the current literature focuses on the short-term benefits of multiage programs, particularly at the elementary level, with little consideration for long-term effects or for what might happen to students once they leave the multiage classroom and enter middle…

The intentions were noble. It was hoped that remediation programs would be an academic bridge from poor high school preparation to college readiness. Sadly, remediation has become instead higher education's "Bridge to Nowhere." This broken remedial bridge is travelled by some 1.7 million beginning students each year, most of whom will…

This book presents lessons learned from in-depth case studies of some of our most effective inclusive public schools. The authors conclusively demonstrate that schools can educate students with mild and severe disabilities in general education classrooms by providing special education services that link to and bolster general education…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore characteristics, competencies, and strategies of transition program employment representatives who attain successful employment outcomes for urban Latino/a youths with disabilities. This study employed in-depth interviewing as a method of data collection. The central research question guiding…

In addition to typical career development and vocational programs in general education, providing school-based programs that are directly linked to employment and career development for youth with learning and emotional and behavioral disabilities is a legally mandated service in special education. Several broad research-based strategies are…