Effective training, evaluation, and incentives are key aspects of this school system's six-level career ladder program for teacher development. The three-pronged committee structure for planning and communication and the program's ownership by everyone involved have been vital to its successful planning and development. (DCS)

California's Vocational and Occupational Information Center for Educators (VOICE), which provides instructors, administrators, and others involved in planning and operating vocational education programs with a variety of resources for improving instruction, is examined. The authors discuss access to this database, computer searches, consultant…

Describes a program to improve the reading motivation of elementary school students that involved the school, a university, and the community. (FL)

Seventh-grade students attended a weekend "camp-out" in which local scientists and college educators were used to enrich students' learning. Information on planning the camp-out and an annotated schedule of events are presented. (JN)

Demonstrates the role of a school counselor in establishing a substance abuse prevention effort and describes specific steps taken in a rural community to deal with adolescent drug problems. School and local mental health counselors were crucial to development of the program. (JAC)

The planning process of two collaborative efforts between NCR Corporation and the University of Dayton are described, including the NCR Executive Development Program. The chief planning officers and public relations officers of the City of Dayton, the University of Dayton, and NCR Corporation meet regularly to share concerns. (MLW)

The adapted physical educator exhibits expertise in motor skill instruction, physical fitness, and play for handicapped students. Elements of special program development, community responsibility, and teacher role are explored. (DF)

The issue of retention is a persistent problem in higher education. For the past 100 years, the institutional graduation rate has stubbornly held at the 50 percent mark: half of all students entering higher education fail to realize their dreams and aspirations based on earning a certificate or degree. For students of color in particular, the…

This paper introduces the Connecticut Community Conversations project and discusses the origins of the partnership between Public Agenda and the Graustien Memorial Fund in Connecticut. It describes Public Agenda's model of community dialogue and engagement and how it was specifically applied in the project. It then looks closely at the experience…

Years of youth development research have yielded consensus by researchers, practitioners, and government representatives regarding what young people need for healthy development. Both environmental and social factors are now seen as critical elements for youth development programs. Addressing these factors creates a foundation for the development…

This issue brief looks at evaluations of 34 academically focused summer programs in order to distill challenges and compile promising strategies for creating quality summer programs. While many summer programs face similar implementation challenges, each program has different components and needs, and not every strategy is feasible or even…

This truancy prevention publication provides a general background discussion on the issue of truancy but mainly centers on the nuts and bolts of developing and implementing an effective community wide collaborative to address truancy. The first section provides some understanding of the factors associated with truancy and the resulting high costs…

This report summarizes current statistical programs of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), including its major publications and plans for future work. In addition to updating the descriptions of long-standing data collections, such as the Common Core of Data, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, and the National…

This document represents the latest collaborative effort between the Connecticut School Counselor Association (CSCA), the Connecticut Association of Counselor Educators and Supervisors (CACES) and the Connecticut State Department of Education. This document delineates best practices for establishing a comprehensive school counseling program and…

This final report summarizes the objectives, activities and outcomes of a federally funded program that was designed to provide parent training and early intervention services to children and families in 4 counties of north Alabama. A total of 61 children were enrolled in the project over three years. All were less than 36 months of age and had…