This article describes a digital wellness workshop that was developed for university students at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. The library workshop series explores the physical and psychological issues that can arise from overuse of digital technologies, especially related to academic performance in college students. Workshop…

Teaching entrepreneurship--how to create, grow and run a business or organization--is one potential means to increase college and career readiness skills. Learning how to start a business can improve critical thinking, communication and collaboration (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992; Hmelo, 1998), which are key qualities for academic as…

For many years, schools of social work have engaged in partnerships, especially with public child welfare agencies, to prepare a competent and professional child welfare workforce through the mechanism of Title IV-E training. In 2008 the National Child Welfare Workforce Institute (NCWWI) established an additional resource for preparing students in…

For the first time, researchers, policymakers and practitioners across the world will have access to a comprehensive mapping of research evidence and policy strategies about education and poverty in affluent countries. Although there is widespread agreement that poverty and poor educational outcomes are related, there are competing explanations as…

The National Comprehensive Center for Teacher Quality asked Public Impact to conduct a study exploring the change processes in the creation and implementation of teacher evaluation systems. This TQ Research & Policy Brief provides an overview of Public Impact's preliminary findings as they relate to the impetus for change and the political and…

In 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 0950694, "The College and Career Readiness Pilot Act", in an effort to reduce remediation within Illinois' community colleges. An important objective of this legislation was to better prepare students to be successful in transitioning from high school to college. According to the…

Recruiting quality teachers is a top priority for school districts across the country. However, recent research demonstrates that an even greater challenge facing schools is retaining newly recruited teachers, particularly in urban school settings. This article analyzes the effects of two key components of many formal induction programs--mentoring…

In 2009, Excelencia in Education launched the Ensuring America's Future initiative to inform, organize, and engage leaders in a tactical plan to increase Latino college completion. An executive summary of Latino College Completion in 50 states synthesizes information on 50 state factsheets and builds on the national benchmarking guide. Each…

This article describes how to implement the four-phase curriculum review model, a simplified process for renovating a high school health and physical education curriculum. Although this model was used at a large suburban high school, it could be adapted for use by smaller schools or other disciplines. The four phases of this model are: (1) needs…

An application of evaluation methodology to innovative educational programs through a case study of a Chicago suburban high school program for alternative education is presented. The evaluation methodology encompasses the difficulty in combining comparative programs, individual-diagnostic, and individual developmental measures, the selection of…

Workload has been found to be a major course-related factor that affects student dropout rates. A heavy workload combined with a lack of time can create problems for students with courses that, by their very nature, require extensive work outside of class time. One such course is the second-semester programming course at Illinois State University…

The article describes one approach to preparing a diverse group of 15 individuals representing seven different agencies in Chicago-Cook County's criminal justice system, to assume the responsibility for planning, administering, and delivering training within their respective agencies. (Author/BP)

Noting that prevention is the key to healthy development of the youngest children in Illinois, the Birth to Three Project is working to develop a comprehensive, coordinated system of services for expecting families and children under 3 years of age. This progress report details the first year implementation of the All Our Kids (AOK): Birth to…

"Nobody wants to get one. Nobody wants to give one." The problem was that the supervisors and managers of the Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago (RIC) did not know how to use the Institute's new performance management system and had not been trained on how to prepare and deliver effective performance appraisals. The problem further…

A survey determined people's perceptions of the relationship of vocational-technical education (VTE) to secondary school programs. Data were collected from 451 local school board members, school administrators, school business officials, and citizens from Illinois during a joint convention of the state associations of all three groups in November…