Preschool Development Grant (PDG) grantees and Head Start programs are funded to provide high-quality preschool education and comprehensive services to families meeting federal poverty guidelines. The overlap of program standards and services across these two programs provides unique opportunities for partnerships. This document provides examples…

The first eight years of life, beginning before birth and continuing through third grade, are a critical developmental period that sets the stage for future success. Research over the past 15 years has demonstrated the importance of high-quality care and education throughout the prenatal-through-third-grade (P-3) continuum, including prenatal and…

The case study examines the review used by the then Bureau of Education for the Handicapped (BEH) to evaluate the compliance of special education programs in Massachusetts with P.L. 94-142, the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Procedures to develop and implement the waiver review over the period October 1977 to June 1978 are reported.…

This collection of five case studies reveals how screening programs for preschool and kindergarten children are currently being implemented in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Programs in a variety of communities--large and small, rural, urban and suburban--are portrayed. The screeners interviewed were chosen in part because they also vary in…

Described is the development of the Regional Education Assessment Diagnostic Services (READS) project, a collaborative organization of 20 Massachusetts school districts which would enable the districts to provide the diagnostic services mandated by recent state legislation for children having special needs. Among topics covered are the legislative…

This report presents the fourth study conducted by the Massachusetts Early Childhood Advisory Council since its inception in 1985, an investigation focusing on how interagency collaboration occurs in local early childhood programs in Massachusetts and whether mandating interagency councils is effective in promoting collaboration. The report also…

Three case studies of interorganizational arrangements between public school districts and a college/university are used to illustrate how a state higher education agency (the Massachusetts Board of Regents of Higher Education) promoted voluntary, lateral relationships to strengthen local school educational programs. A within-case analysis…

This book discusses state child care and early childhood education policies, particularly their relationship to the economy. It provides a framework for policymakers who are deliberating child care and early childhood education policies; outlines the range of recent state legislation; describes initiatives of Massachusetts and Washington; and…

New economic strategies used by states are described, and case studies of the recent innovations in economic development policies of Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Michigan are presented. A number of programs in other states are briefly reviewed, and various models of state intervention are evaluated, along with the principles that underlie…

In their 2004 State of the State speeches, the nation's governors cited many issues competing for their attention and their states' resources, including health care, education, crime, and security (Nodine 2004). Among the most compelling challenges were those related to economic development and the ability of a state's workforce to meet the needs…

Massachusetts passed the first state legislation mandating bilingual education in 1971, the Transitional Bilingual Education Bill (TBE). This publication contains five case studies that demonstrate how teachers and schools have responded to the needs of their minority group students. The first case study, "Bilingual Education in a Bilingual…

In the first phase of a study of factors affecting knowledge dissemination and knowledge use in staff development programs, a conceptual model was developed, and from it a 15 page questionnaire was derived to collect data on workshop participants' background and personal characteristics, school characteristics, and workshop characteristics. This…

This study evaluated the relationship between Massachusetts special education expenditures and revenues and the overall allocation of school budgets between special and regular education. An introduction reviews the study's background, census-based funding in Massachusetts, education reform efforts in the state, the Foundation Budget approach…

The impact of one-stop career centers on the U.S. Employment Service (ES) program was examined through case studies of one-stop initiatives in the following states: Georgia; Ohio; California; Iowa; Oregon; Massachusetts; Texas; Utah; and Wisconsin. Of the nine case study states, only Georgia had not begun instituting a one-stop career center…

This evaluation of programs conducted in fiscal 1978 under the Youth Employment and Demonstration Projects Act (YEDPA) consists of an overall picture of the 1978 YEDPA program experience and case studies of programs in 12 states. Findings and recommendations are presented concerning the implementation of YEDPA programs by Comprehensive Employment…