U.S. observers of German apprenticeships are impressed with the quality of vocational training provided, the sense of purpose given to (part-time) academic schooling, and the smooth transition apprentices make from adolescence to adulthood. In Broome County, New York, Cornell University has initiated a Youth Apprenticeship Demonstration Project to…

A Durham, New Hampshire, research team successfully pilot-tested an alternative to holistically scored, timed writing samples that corrects some evaluation shortcomings without added cost. The team used portfolios to measure production, perception, and reflection across a population of 27 randomly selected fifth graders. This method proved…

Summarizes results of a pilot study to determine how eight moral values stated by former Education Secretary William Bennett are learned by students in classrooms. According to students, teachers must follow the rules themselves to teach character education effectively. Respect is best taught through a hidden curriculum of modeling and quality…

Walla Walla Schools (Washington) designed a demonstration project using the Marzano thinking skills model, which emphasizes learning preparation, content thinking, and basic reasoning skills. Placing selected thinking skills within specific curriculum areas and grade levels proved so successful that teachers then collaborated on a content-free…

Describes the "Private Eye Project" developed by Seattle artist and writer Kerry Ruef and piloted by the Seattle Public Schools. Program materials include a loupe (a jeweler's magnifying glass) and a kit of specimens. Transformed by the loupe, the most ordinary objects present new, analogous worlds leading to poetic and artistic…

Explains two phases of Tennessee's statewide efforts to strengthen parent-school partnerships. One phase I program is based on Purkey's "Invitational Education" concept aiming to increase parent and community involvement. Phase II models include "Active Parenting,""New Parents as Teachers," and an "Operation…

The TransParent School Model linking telephones with computers enables teachers to communicate daily with parents regarding children's learning activities, homework, and ways for parents to support the child's study at home. Electronic mailboxes can expand the system's message-storing capacity. Includes eight references. (MLH)

In 1992, collaborators from the San Marcos and Austin school districts, Southwest Texas State University, a regional education service center, and a telephone company formed the Center for Professional Development and Technology. Their goal was utilizing technology to redesign teacher education within a classroom context. Teachers learn to use…

Rip Van Winkle would not recognize Corsicana (Texas) High School since its curriculum coordinator began implementing learning styles techniques in various pilot programs. Lecturing to rows of bored students has been replaced by students' active involvement in group activities, listening centers, and tactile/kinesthetic exercises on the floor or at…

School support teams--external groups of teachers, pupil services personnel, and reform experts--assist schools as they plan, implement, and improve their schoolwide Title I programs. Team members of the Texas School Support Initiative, begun as a 1994-95 pilot project involving 12 schools, learned the value of building trust, starting with…

Junior Great Books Curriculum model uses interpretive discussion within the reading process to help students of all reading abilities understand literature, or construct inferential and thematic meaning from their reading. Program was piloted in third-grade classes in 13 Chicago schools between 1989 and 1991. The model's cornerstone is the…

Deploring standardized testing deficiencies, the author obtained state funding to adapt England's Primary Language Record assessment to U.S. classrooms and piloted the literacy portion throughout California. Now 20 schools and districts across 8 states employ the Learning Record Assessment, accompanied by parental-involvement and…

Dissatisfied with the mismatch between letter grades and their new (state-mandated) curricular emphases, the Tucson (Arizona) Public Schools began experimenting with rubric descriptions of student progress. The prototype progress report assesses students in two general categories: learner qualities and content areas. Frequent communication with…

Boston's Diploma Plus program helps 16- to 22-year-old dropouts gain the skills and confidence necessary for graduation, continued education, and work. The program establishes high expectations, enlivens teaching and learning, measures progress by actual performance, and builds in continuous assessment and challenging postsecondary experiences.…

Arizona At-Risk Pilot Project results suggest most effective means to involve parents are those that establish personal rapport between someone from the school and a parent and do not initially require high levels of commitment or participation. The "ideal" parent may be hard to find, but getting to know parents individually and…