This report explores the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Deep-End Initiative, which is helping juvenile justice jurisdictions safely and significantly reduce youth confinement -- especially for young people of color. In America today, youth of color are consistently over-represented in courtrooms and detention centers, youth prisons and other…

College enrollment has increased over the past 10 years and is projected to continue growing over the next 10 for both full- and part-time students. At the same time, institutions face low retention and graduation rates. One policy that shows promise in increasing completion rates, especially for adult learners and those who served in the…

Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, comprises three primary units that each serve a distinct population: the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) is a residential college for roughly 2,800 traditional-age undergraduates; the College of Adult and Professional Studies and Graduate School (CAPS/GS) serves roughly 2,200 adult learners at both the…

Harvard Family Research Project (HFRP) and the National Parent-Teacher Association (PTA) have teamed up to bring you a ground-breaking policy brief that examines the role of school districts in promoting family engagement. "Seeing is Believing: Promising Practices for How School Districts Promote Family Engagement" spotlights how six…

Adult basic education (ABE) programming efforts in Minnesota for the 1992-93 year were designed to accomplish the following state plan-stipulated goals: (1) continue developing/implementing a statewide ABE delivery system to enable adults (especially disadvantaged adults) with basic skill deficiencies to identify and achieve their personal and…

Today's undergraduates approach research with needs and expectations that challenge traditional library services. The foundation for leading an effective response is the ability to assess undergraduate needs and translate these needs into tangible strategic initiatives that contribute to student academic success. This paper describes the…

The article describes a project aimed at designing, developing, and testing a state-operated subsystem for periodic evaluation of the efficiency of individual post-high school and adult vocational programs. (JK)

The University of Minnesota's Special Education Administration Training Program (SEATP) is a competency-based education program, developed from a systems orientation model, and used for continuing education of professional administrators. The report presents an overview of the SEATP program under the following topical areas: (1) background…

This narrative, single-case study examines how liaison librarians at the University of Minnesota (UMN) came to include advocating for reform of the scholarly communication system among their core responsibilities. While other libraries may hire a coordinator or rely on a committee to undertake outreach programs, UMN has defined baseline expertise…

This monograph presents lessons learned from the five-year (1992-97) project, Together We're Better, a federally funded systems change project focused on inclusion of children with severe disabilities in Minnesota schools and communities. The project identified six focus areas: (1) district partnerships, (2) personnel preparation and development,…

Project SAIL (Student Advocates Inspire Learning) is a Title IV-C Project located in Hopkins, Minnesota, designed to prevent students from dropping out of school by keeping them successfully involved in the mainstream environment. This study presents a review of other dropout prevention approaches, describes the intervention strategies involved in…

This case study describes the introduction and consideration of a state board staff proposal that the more traditional Minnesota State Universities adopt external degree programs. A model for making practices congruent with policy decisions is presented. The process of examining the external degree proposal, beginning with the state board actions…

This document describes the efforts of program administrators to implement an organic curriculum in the Duluth, Minnesota, secondary schools. Major activities included staff development activities and inservice training students in a core of job skills. Organic curriculum is a learner-rather than a teacher-centered course of study utilizing…