Early awareness strategies, from outreach campaigns to cohort-based learning groups to scholarships, are a group of efforts that help middle school students stay on the path to college and understand how to fund their education. These strategies become part of early awareness programs, which seek to put students on a college-going path by…

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…

There is growing unease about suspension and expulsion of children at the preschool level. Preschoolers are expelled at three times the rate of K-12 students (Gilliam, 2005). Boys--particularly African-American boys--comprise a disproportionate number of these cases, a fact that has caused concern among parents, policymakers, and advocates alike.…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify significant external and internal challenges that state organization leaders face in promoting science-based teen pregnancy prevention programs within their states. The state organization administrators were chosen because their organizations were funded by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control…

The "Assistive Technology Act of 1998," as amended by Public Law 108-364 ("AT Act of 1998," as amended) requires that the secretary of education submit to Congress a report on the activities funded under that act. Specifically, the secretary of education is required to annually provide to Congress: (1) a compilation and summary…

Two provisions in Title I--maintenance of effort (MOE) and supplement not supplant (SNS)--are designed to limit the extent to which federal funds can be used to replace state and local resources. To assess the quality of oversight of these provisions, the General Accounting Office (GAO) determined how Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana,…

This Massachusetts Long-Range Plan was developed to set broad strategic direction for the use of Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds, to inform Massachusetts libraries of these directions, and to meet the statutory requirement. This plan details specific goals and objectives that support the stated mission: to provide every resident…

This report examines the present fiscal condition and changing nature of the system of public libraries in Massachusetts. Despite the impact of budget cuts on operating hours and staffing, the demand for library services has increased concomitantly with the information needs of individuals, professionals, and businesses. Many of the municipal…

The paper addresses the major ideas of Massachusetts' Chapter 776--the Bartley-Daly Act--which mandates the provision of educational services to handicapped children ages 3 to 21, particularly in relation to P.L. 94-142--the Education for All Handicapped Children Act. Sections address the following areas: legal responsibility for ensuring…

As states work to provide public funds for early care and education programs, they need data on the current system to better provide a system that supports parents' need to work, promotes healthy child development, and ensures the educational quality of all early education and care programs. This report provides Massachusetts' policy makers with a…

This collection of seven reports explores the changes in children's services that have been brought about by efforts to limit local spending and taxation, and by unfavorable economic changes. The four states chosen for analysis--California, Massachusetts, Michigan, and New Jersey--represent contrasting economic circumstances and several different…

Since 1915, when the Americanization "movement" came into being, the American people have joined dozens of Americanization societies, listened to hundreds of people who declaimed Americanization, and read thousands of dissertations, wise and otherwise, on the same theme. For several years past, Americanization movements have been…

This handbook records the joint planning process for development of a family literacy program suited to each of six Massachusetts communities. Part 1 discusses the national background to collaborative projects, national educational goals and concept of family and intergenerational literacy programs, justification for family literacy, libraries'…

Meeting at Massachusetts state residential schools and centers for the mentally handicapped, the 15-man committee reviewed recommendations originally appearing in Massachusetts Plans for Its Retarded, A 10-Year Plan (1966). Forty-seven final recommendations for improving residential facilities for the retarded resulted; suggestions made for their…

Maintains that a more thorough understanding of the complex relationship between state government and local schools would greatly benefit arts educators. Presents an examination of the structure of this relationship in Massachusetts as a model. Examines government funding, staffing, delegation of powers, and various shared responsibilities. (MJP)