Because researchers know so much more about the brain and development than they did when the 20th-century U.S. education system was designed, this knowledge can now be used to design a system in which all individuals are able to take advantage of high-quality opportunities for transformative learning and development. This playbook suggests a set…

The purpose of this paper is to inform the community about teacher appraisal methods in the School District of Philadelphia, outline the difficulties of the current system, and suggest approaches that would strengthen the teacher appraisal process. The authors gathered their information over three months in mid-2009 from multiple sources:…

This guide is the second monograph in the "Guidelines for Effective Practice" series commissioned by the Best Practices Project of the Family Resource which meets the need for better definition and articulation of what constitutes best practice in family support programs. This guide describes the definition, key characteristics, and…

The community and the public school system are on a head-on collision course. Community concerns are taxes, poor teaching, and school responsibility for social ills. Educators "know" what is best and perceive challenges as threats to their integrity. The situation intensifies in rural settings. Good communication can alleviate dissonance/mistrust.…

Schools have expressed a need to know the identity and/or circumstances of young offenders in order to address school safety and security issues, and to provide a collaborative and coordinated case management approach for the rehabilitation of the young person. A framework for the exchange of information between youth justice and school officials…

This report is the second to appear in a series of studies carried out by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development's Centre for Educational Research and Innovation (CERI) during the past 5 years. The first report concerned the integration of handicapped young people into ordinary schools. The present report deals with what happens…

As a result of declining enrollments and the associated need for budget reductions, many school districts are confronting the issue of school closure. This guidebook presents an alternative to closing schools, namely, the option of transforming them into community centers and addresses the issues involved in cooperative planning with the community…

This document explains how community groups can use the Labor Secretary's Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills (SCANS) process to ensure that skills taught in school are those sought by employers. Chapter 1 explains how the SCANS process works. Chapter 2 is titled "What SCANS Means to You." Chapter 3 explains how to build coalitions,…

The Community Advisory Committee (CAC) is a strategy to involve the community in active participation in the development, amendment, and review of the local plan for special education. The CAC originated under the design of the California Master Plan for Special Education. The CAC brings together and supports parents and professionals, regular and…

This collection describes over 340 projects in which the Center for Urban and Regional Affairs (CURA) at the University of Minnesota (Minneapolis) has played a role in the past two years. The CURA offers a program of research and outreach on urban problems, which brings the resources of the university to bear on the problems of urban communities.…

The document presents recommendations voted by the Quality Education Conference III participants as the most pressing items of unfinished business in New Mexico education. Recommendations for public schools are listed under the following subheadings: curricular concerns, communication, staff improvement, and fiscal support. Recommendations for…

This book presents research findings and information about school violence, with a focus on strategies for increasing school safety. Articles in the book come from a special edition of the journal Rural Special Education Quarterly, a publication of the American Council on Rural Special Education. The articles have been rewritten to address issues…

Owners of all types of real properties, especially owners and occupants of big city downtown properties, have a high investment in the educational quality of the local labor force, and should encourage improvement even if it results in increased property taxes. Every real estate investment is "locked in" to the specific geographic…

This book reports on the first stages of a project to increase understanding about why some young people have difficulty making transitions to productive adulthood and how to help them make more successful transitions. Contents include an introduction, 10 chapters, and an epilogue. "Introduction: Preventing Youthful Disconnectedness"…

This document explains how to establish study circles for public dialogue and community problem solving with the aim of building strong neighborhoods. The foreword explains the value of study circles in addressing the challenges currently facing all kinds of neighborhoods and presents 10 specific guidelines for organizing study circles in a…