The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) aims to increase the number of students with disabilities who achieve positive post-school outcomes and engage in higher education or competitive employment opportunities. Through their State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) and State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG), Alabama is focusing on…

Auditioning is often uncomfortable but can lead to great rewards. Music educators can do much to help their students be at their best in front of a panel. In this article, four experts share their experiences as adjudicators and their advice on how best to prepare students for the process.

This final report describes the Systematic Integrated Preschool Education Model (SIPE) project, which established classrooms to demonstrate an inclusion model for serving preschool children with severe disabilities. A total of 33 preschool children with identified developmental disabilities and their families in three Virginia school districts…

Qualitative research methods were used to examine practices at an elementary school providing inclusive schooling for students with and without disabilities. Findings indicated that systems change occurred slowly, intentionally, and with a collaborative process of decision making which stressed development of policies, conditions, and supports…

Measuring change when true experimental conditions do not exist is a difficult process. This article reviews the artifacts of change measurement in evaluations and quasi-experimental designs, delineates considerations in choosing a model to measure change under nonideal conditions, and suggests ways to organize models to facilitate selection.…

Project Priority: Occupational Emphasis was designed to assist New York State two-year colleges in the application of cognitive style information to vocational programs. The project consisted of four phases: (1) a workshop on cognitive style assessment, case studies, and information application; (2) campus visitations by project consultants in…

This report describes ongoing efforts of the Maine Department of Education to encourage high school improvement through state-level actions. Three intertwined strategies have added value to the individual schools' improvement efforts, including: (1) the drafting of a statewide reform framework called Promising Futures; (2) the creation of a new…

This publication presents approximately 50 brief case studies that describe the experience of participants in the National Diffusion Network (NDN), a linkage system established by the U.S. Office of Education to enable people to share their knowledge and help each other promote change in the schools. The case studies illustrate the change-agent…

The overall objective of the project was to develop a model adaptable throughout Texas that would enable school districts to increase and maintain female enrollment in vocational programs that had traditionally been dominated by males. In meeting this overall objective, other secondary objectives also had to be met. These included providing…

This practicum report describes in detail the efforts of a High School Task Force made up of 21 teachers to establish and operate a model high school as part of a new 4-4-4 educational plan for the Erie, Pennsylvania, schools. The Strong Vincent Comprehensive High School Renewal Site utilized curriculum revision, quarter course offerings, and…

This article describes the three-decade experience in model development and replication and in introducing and sustaining organization change of Child Development Resources (CDR), of Williamsburg, Virginia. CDR provides an integrated system of services for children with disabilities and developmental delays as well as for children who are at risk.…

The partnership for reform of Albania's government with several sources of financial support in the system of secondary vocational education is examined. The context of secondary vocational education in 1990-91, a time of turbulent political transition, is outlined and the assessment of educational needs is chronicled. Planning priorities,…

Student Services organizations must develop greater effectiveness to become facilitators of planned change. For higher education to be both available and meaningful, changes are required in Student Services programs and practices. Student Services professionals have a great deal of expertise to offer in the development of educational programs that…

The National Workplace Literacy Program forges dynamic partnerships among businesses, workers, and educators facilitating the transition from yesterday's work environment to tomorrow's. The program's success is indicated by high retention rates, organizational acceptance, and intense grants competition. Valid and reliable measures are needed that…

Suggests strategies for assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation of substance abuse prevention programs with American Indian youth. Illustrates use of each strategy with examples from drug abuse prevention activities in Northwest Indian communities. (JHZ)