As artificial intelligence reshapes many aspects of society and workforce, many colleges and universities have focused on developing technical AI programs within computer science departments. But preparing students and faculty for an AI-enabled future requires more than technical training--it demands a broader approach to AI literacy and…

The number of students experiencing homelessness in Massachusetts has grown substantially over the last few years. More than 31,000 Massachusetts students experienced homelessness during the 2023-2024 school year, a 20 percent increase from the previous year. We know homelessness puts an immense strain on child development and that experiencing…

The Developmental Strategies for College Readiness and Success Resource Guide was produced by the Education Commission of the States and the Southern Regional Education Board for the "Countdown to 2015: Developmental Strategies to Advance Readiness in the Common Core Era" convening held April 21-23, 2014 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The…

Across the country, districts are choosing to #GoOpen and transitioning to the use of openly licensed educational resources to improve student learning in their schools. Openly licensed educational resources enable districts to reallocate significant funds currently spent on inflexible, static learning materials to resources and activities that…

With their "open door" admissions policies and lower tuition, community colleges offer a gateway to higher education for millions of American students. Indeed, students who enter higher education through community colleges are much more likely than those who start at four-year institutions to be low-income or the first in their family to…

The Federal Writers' Project was an arm of the Works Progress Administration (WPA), Franklin Delano Roosevelt's massive program to put the unemployed back to work. The Writers' Project was charged with producing an extensive guidebook for each of the 48 states; and more than 6,000 local newspaper writers, novelists, poets, college professors, and…

Between 1999 and 2003, the Western Massachusetts Writing Project experienced a series of changes that made it question whether it could survive as a writing project site. The convergence of retirement, unexpected death, and withdrawal of long-term financial support forced the existing leadership to develop a process to look deeply into the work of…

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…

This guide is based on findings of a year-long study undertaken by the Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to evaluate Institute-sponsored programs for youth aged 9-19 between 1998 and 2003, and discussion with the IMLS Youth Action Committee and practitioners about the kind of information needed for planning and implementing effective…

This handbook on the advisory and decision-making aspects of parent involvement provides information and skill-building activities to help parents establish, maintain, and increase the effectiveness of parent advisory councils (PAC) for bilingual education programs in Massachusetts. Chapter 1 describes the legal background and the basic structures…

One goal of the National Forum on Education Statistics is to improve the quality of education data gathered for use by policymakers and program decision-makers. One approach to furthering this goal has been to pool the collective experiences of Forum members to produce "best practice" guides in areas of high interest to those who…

The Massachusetts State Council on Vocational Education advocates both articulation between secondary schools and community colleges and system coordination between education and employment training. Council projects have had two basic operational goals: to create dialogue within and between sectors and to create products that would stimulate…

This handbook describes four innovative methods of connecting schools and colleges with employment training in Massachusetts. It is a companion document to "Commonwealth Connections," which describes successful traditional programs in schools and colleges. An introduction provides an overview of the coordination approaches, two of them…

This resource guide deals with open education at the secondary level. It concentrates on open education schools and programs in the Boston area, as its intended audience is Massachusetts Educators. The "open" concept in education is discussed, and a scale designed to measure the extent to which a given program embodies the open school…

In order for the potential of cable television to be applied for educational benefit, educators must effectively communicate their priorities and needs to both licensing authorities and cable companies. This guide familiarizes educators and school committees with their options and prepares them to take part in local franchise negotiations. It…