The current education system is failing our children. Yet the system shifts the blame as well as the search for possible solutions to teachers and learners, avoiding responsibility for its role in the existing oppressive structures. In turn, it fails to address the needs of a vastly diverse student population. This article looks at the development…

Smart Start Illinois is a multiyear plan to provide every child with access to preschool, increase funding to child care providers to raise wages and quality, and reach more vulnerable families with early support. Launched with a $300 million investment in the fiscal year 2024 state budget, Smart Start Illinois has already yielded results. The…

As community colleges across the country look for ways to promote student success, the need for scaling effective approaches is critical. This guide builds on a framework of four phases of scaling developed in Job For the Future's (JFF's) previous publication, "Thinking Big: A Framework for States on Scaling Up Community College…

Research shows that half of all teachers working in urban school settings leave the profession within five years, and many who choose to leave are the ones who are most effective (Coggins & Diffenbaugh, 2013.) Manual Rounds, a structured peer observation process based on the established practice of instructional rounds, was implemented at…

Since 2000, Illinois has pursued an ambitious goal to strengthen principal preparation. This is a vital goal, as research has demonstrated that an effective principal is the key factor in improving schools and increasing student achievement. Through the work of numerous statewide committees and consortia, with funding support from several…

The idea that one of the Catholic Church's most respected religious orders might run a public school sounded odd, maybe even, as Francis Cardinal George, head of the Archdiocese of Chicago, conjectured, illegal. But a decade ago several trends in American education, and in the Catholic Church, made a Catholic-operated public school seem…

The Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative of the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The overarching goal of the Plus 50…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative (2008-2011), funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies, was created to build the capacity of community colleges nationwide to develop programming that engages the plus 50 learner. The Initiative supported a pilot group of 13 two-year institutions to develop or expand college…

In communities including New Orleans, Los Angeles, and Chicago, educators are creating alternative schools for struggling students that employ online credit-recovery programs as a core portion, or all, of their curriculum. The growth in online learning generally, including blended learning, has fueled the proliferation of computer-based credit…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

The American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative is a three-year initiative launched in June 2008 and funded by The Atlantic Philanthropies. It was created to support a pilot group of two-year institutions to develop or expand campus programs that engage plus 50 learners. The initiative focuses on three types of…

"JOBSTART" is an alternative education and training program designed to improve the economic prospects of young, disadvantaged high school dropouts by increasing educational attainment and developing occupational skills. The program has four main components: (1) basic academic skills instruction with a focus on GED (General Educational…

A four-phased project developed an impact assessment system for vocational education research and development personnel to indicate whether the resources spent for funded projects improved the programs identified by the research and development system. During Phase I, procedures were identified and developed for complying with the impact…

This report focuses on two programs launched by the U. S. Office of Education (USOE) for personnel development in vocational education. The two programs (section 552, Leadership Development Awards and section 553, State Systems for Personnel Development), created under part F of the Education Professions Development Act (EPDA), are examined in 11…

A study was conducted to investigate empirically the nature of program development, testing Everett Rogers' model of collective adoption of an innovation against the data, and distinguishing between the developmental patterns of high and low quality programs. Subjects were 34 school districts representing a 10 percent sample of 340 districts…