Issues facing educators today include drug traffic and abuse, crime and delinquency, gangs, weapons, violence, vandalism, schoolyard bullying, and crisis management. Teachers and administrators require special skills to cope with potentially explosive situations and violent students, yet training in those skills is not being received in university…

This final report describes the Multi-Agency Project for Preschoolers (MAPPS), a project recognized as exemplary by the National Diffusion Network of the U.S. Department of Education. The Project's primary purpose was to assist states (Utah, Idaho, and Wyoming) in addressing the needs of infants and preschool children with handicaps and their…

The Achieving Membership Program in Forest Lake (Minnesota) attempted to develop, document, and evaluate district level, building level, and child team level strategies to achieve full inclusion in regular schools for elementary-aged students with severe disabilities. The 3-year program had three main components: (1) establishing model…

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program designated art as an area for special emphasis during 1989-90 and 1990-91, and the program identified 42 schools that were excellent overall and had exemplary programs in the arts. The schools shared the following characteristics: (1) a philosophy that holds arts education as a basic and necessary component of a…

Project PRISE (Project to Improve Science Education) was designed to improve science preparation for preservice elementary teachers. Because students were familiar with water, and because water was so abundant in the project area (Grand Valley State University, Michigan), it was chosen as the theme. The PRISE curriculum development process began…

This report outlines emerging paradigms of service for mentally retarded adults emerging from a nationwide search for innovative programs and practices. It was prompted by the consistent finding of a Pennsylvania longitudinal study that mentally retarded school completers tend to live indefinitely with parents or guardians. The study found the…

This document presents model program efforts designed to foster academic and social growth for all students in the least restrictive environment. The program ideas were presented at a conference highlighting effective program collaboration between regular and special education. The programs aim to enhance student skills as well as foster…

This document describes the 1988 Search for Excellence in Vocational Programs, which identifies excellence in vocational service programs for persons with disabilities. The three steps of a management strategy to help administrators make changes in programs to achieve excellence are explained: (1) develop an "Excellence Plan": (2) develop a system…

THE FOLLOWING IS THE FULL TEXT OF THIS DOCUMENT: The purpose of this program is to develop good citizenship, responsibility, and public confidence. All students are given 3"x5" cards with a brief explanation of the program written on top. Basically, the description states that we are challenging students to spread the good name of…

A program description and two booklets provide information about the May 1980 Schoolympics Games held at Burlingame Intermediate School (California). The description of the 10-day, schoolwide event includes: (1) the use of all areas of the curriculum in the competitive events; (2) the involvement of students, staff, parents, and community; (3) the…

The document contains the final report of a model educational program for handicapped preschoolers in Preston County (West Virginia). Section I offers the history of the project and background information on the geographic location, operating characteristics, children served, and staffing pattern. Section II outlines the original project…

The school/community improvement process adapted by the Rural, Small Schools Program at the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL) serves to revitalize and improve rural schools, incorporating commitment of both school and community leaders to rural school improvement. This paper describes implementation of the process in four school districts,…

The Materials and Assistance in Science Teaching project carried out a model program for improving science teaching in all 125 elementary classrooms in the Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified School District of Northern California. The project was a cooperative activity involving Sonoma State University and the school district, with funding shared by…

The 1988/89 New York City high school Inquiry Demonstration Project (IDP) met or surpassed its evaluation criteria. The IDP comprised the Urban Academy, a laboratory school serving high-risk students, and an on-site staff development program in seven high schools. The overall goal was to promote the use of the inquiry method in the classroom. The…

Providing disadvantaged youth with the training to continue their education or to obtain meaningful, long-term employment has been hampered by lack of funding, inability to meet the multiple needs of at-risk youth, and the difficulty of recruiting at-risk youth to participate in programs. This report describes and recommends nine employment…