This timely book will help policymakers and practitioners convert their visions of high-quality early education into on-the-ground reality by providing a much-needed, richly detailed look at how states can design, fund, and manage exemplary programs. The authors describe and analyze how four states--Michigan, West Virginia, Washington, and North…

DegreePlus is a recently developed program at Western Carolina University (WCU) that aims to develop transferable skills, including professionalism, cultural responsiveness, leadership and teamwork, in students via their participation in extracurricular activities. A mixed-methods study that included focus groups and a survey was used to identify…

Student peer educators have been used by higher education intuitions to influence the education and retention of college students for many years, and most institutions have some type of peer educator program. Newton and Ender (2010) broadly define the role of peer educators as "students who have been selected, trained, and designated by a…

Background: There has been little evaluation of school-located vaccination programs that offer human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in US schools without health centers (ie, extramural programs). This article summarizes lessons learned from such programs. Methods: In July to August 2010, 5 programs were identi?ed. Semistructured, in-depth telephone…

This article offers a critical examination of one regional institution's endeavor to imagine, develop, and implement a sustainable campus-wide writing-intensive program. Grounded in local and institutional contexts, our narrative elucidates how WPAs at rural and regional institutions can reconcile the processes of negotiation and concession to…

The purpose of this paper is to provide information and insight into how state assessment programs are governed, how individual state and state-consortium assessment programs actually operate, and how key policy and technical decisions on these programs are made. To address these issues, this paper is divided into three sections: First, the New…

Research and professional leadership standards identify specific ways in which principals directly influence school organization and community relationships and exert less direct, but critically important, influence on teaching quality and instructional effectiveness. Principals' roles are central to supporting and supervising teachers'…

This review traces the evolution from 1971 to the present of a national technical assistance (TA) program to support the creation, expansion, and improvement of services for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers with special needs. From its beginning as a TA resource for demonstration projects, to linking outreach projects' expertise with state…

The Down East Partnership for Children (DEPC) was established in 1993 to bring together health, education, and social service agencies to address the needs of children and families in two eastern North Carolina counties. Collaboration theory provided a useful lens through which to examine the development of the partnership, recognize preconditions…

Survey of 20 rural eastern North Carolina teachers suggests that spring and fall are best for holding outdoor education workshops, with fall preferred. Workshops should provide teachers with hands-on activities, information about local outdoor resource areas, and classroom materials and should emphasize improving teacher familiarity with the…

In 1998, the Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) began developing what is now the Appalachian Higher Education (AHE) Network. The AHE Network, currently composed of eight centers, has the mission of increasing the college-going rate in Appalachia, the numbers of students who continue their education directly after graduating high school. This…

This article describes a collaborative process that parents, teachers, consumers, and advocacy groups in North Carolina used to successfully establish a permanently funded university training program specializing in visual impairments, the Visual Impairment Training Program. Within this process several factors were identified that contributed to…

A project of comprehensive inservice training for public school teachers and other personnel serving autistic children in North Carolina is described, and objectives and accomplishments are documented. In addition to summer training for teachers of autistic children, a series of four school-year workshops, and a 2-day period of winter inservice…

Discusses the development and preliminary evaluation of an experimental statewide system of services in North Carolina for seriously behaviorally/emotionally disturbed adolescents. The program successfully provides these youngsters with appropriate treatment, education, training, and care suited to their individual needs, including community-based…

This report discusses the effectiveness of current educational efforts in the state of North Carolina, identifies opportunities for new or expanded activity, and recommends a plan of action. The first section discusses the definition of environmental education and reasons why environmental education is needed. The second section discusses three…