This research examines how public school principals in eight U.S. states perceive their teacher evaluation systems, which are based on Charlotte Danielson's Framework for Teaching (FfT). States were selected to represent high, middle, and low scorers in the annual "Education Week" "Quality Counts" report (Education Week, 2016).…

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…

Early childhood teachers are rightly concerned with implementing a system that was, at least in the initial stages, designed with a different set of teachers in mind--teachers of older students who have standardized achievement data. In most states, policy, practices, and guidance for early childhood teachers are just now being developed or…

The National Quality Improvement Center on the Privatization of Child Welfare Services selected Illinois as a demonstration site in 2007 to evaluate performance-based contracting in residential treatment services. This article discusses the first two years of project implementation including developing residential treatment performance indicators,…

The human brain develops rapidly in the first five years of life. High-quality early learning experiences can have a profound and lasting positive effect on young children during these years, setting the stage for success in kindergarten and beyond. This is especially true for young children with high needs who are from low-income families; who…

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…

This article argues that mid-1970s discourses of literacy crisis prompted a problematic shift toward color-blind ideologies of language and literacy within both disciplinary and institutional discussions of writing instruction for "high-risk" minority students. It further argues that this shift has continuing import for contemporary…

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…

This exploration into competency-based innovation at the school, district, and state levels suggests that competency-based pathways are a re-engineering of this nation's education system around learning--a re-engineering designed for success in which failure is no longer viable. This discussion draws on interviews and site visits with innovators…

A statewide survey was conducted to determine the availability of a career development course at the high school level in Illinois. The participants in the study were the directors of vocational education in the 597 high school districts that submitted Local Plans for Vocational Education to the Illinois State Board of Education in FY 1984. They…

This report concerns integrating academic and occupational instruction at the community college level. Such integration would be conducive to preparing a competitive workforce, providing a broader educational foundation, shifting from teaching to learning, and building bridges between disciplines in the community college. There are several…

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…

Quality Assurance Program (QAP) integration activities were studied at eight Illinois community and junior colleges. Data collection involved telephone interviews with career deans at the colleges, 11 follow-up site observations, and attendance at a regional vocational education system directors meeting. When classroom observations occurred,…

This report results from a self-study performed by Kishwaukee College in Illinois to prepare for a site visit from the North Central Association for accreditation. It details operations and goal outcomes of the college, and divides these data into eight sections: (1) an introduction, which contains an institutional profile, accreditation history,…

Dual credit programs were first established in the 1970s, gradually gaining popularity in the 1980s, and expanding enormously through the 1990s. These programs are designed to allow high school students to begin college-level coursework and simultaneously earn high school and college credit. While the original intent was to provide more…