This paper describes a major initiative in the Commonwealth of Kentucky to develop a statewide, standards-based, student report card for reporting the learning progress of individual students at all grade levels (K-12). Led by a team of researchers with expertise in grading and reporting, 36 educators from three diverse school districts created…

This paper outlines the preparations necessary for state psychological associations to make a timely, well-coordinated, and successful mental health response to disaster or trauma. It is suggested that early planning, recruiting, training, connecting with an authorized disaster organization, forming a mental health coalition, organizing…

Established by NIE in June 1975, the State Dissemination Grants Program provides resources to state education agencies to develop comprehensive and generalized dissemination capacity, which is defined as the leadership and service capability to provide information and technical assistance in the solution of problems identified by the dissemination…

The experience of the New York Association of Child Care Workers (ACCW) in implementing and further developing over a 4-year period a statewide program for certifying child caregivers is described in this paper. The certification program is discussed in three sections. After the first section's brief introductory statement, the second section,…

Materials developed by the Alabama community, junior, and technical colleges as part of a state-funded professional development effort are presented. The first sections provide information on Alabama's systemwide professional development activities; the organization and characteristics of the community, junior, and technical college system;…

In January 1982, the West Virginia Board of Regents, the governing board for the 16 public colleges and universities in the state, established a state-level advisory committee for teacher education. This Teacher Education Advisory Committee (TEAC) consisted of a representative from each of the public and private senior institutions having one or…

Strategies are presented for fostering statewide program development and refinement in the field of special education. Sixteen observations about change are presented, with examples from various Washington statewide initiatives. Among the observations are the following: Reform should be promoted from within by empowering schools to explore…

This paper describes the involvement of faith in healthy community efforts, highlighting Nebraska's plan to strengthen and transform public health at the state and local level. This involved expanding health promotion and disease prevention programs into nontraditional settings (schools, worksites, and churches). A faith team was organized to…

An overview of Florida's statewide school improvement project, Schoolyear 2000, is provided in this paper. Schoolyear 2000, to be implemented in 1994, is a collaborative plan to improve public education in Florida through the systematic application of technology to learning and teaching. The planning and design stage has involved the Center for…

A study examined the experiences of three states (Minnesota, Maine, Colorado) concerning the development of distance education at the postsecondary level, and the implications of each state's public policy approach. The study's principal objective was to better understand the forces for coordination and competition in state systems of higher…

Innovative programs for the improvement of education in Georgia funded by the Quality Basic Education Act of 1985 are described. Developmental projects address priorities selected by the state board; must meet state validation criteria and have the potential for adoption throughout the state; and must be cost effective, with local fair share match…

This paper describes early issues, events, and efforts in New Hampshire to develop a telecommunications base for students and educators. Six "dreams" of possible telecommunications programs are briefly described, some facts about New Hampshire are provided, and some problems to be addressed are considered. The beginnings of the New…

The paper traces the establishment and outcomes of a special education program development unit as part of the West Virginia Department of Education. It is explained that the office used a process/product planning approach with information on mission, role/function, allocation of function and resources, and multiple matrix analysis planning. Based…

The experience of Kansas communication educators in developing speaking and listening assessment has been characterized by unusual cooperation and collaboration among members of the educational community and the professional communication organizations at several different levels. In 1992, the Kansas State Legislature established the Quality…

The State University of New York (SUNY) Bridge Program is a federally funded work force preparation program that was initiated in October 1992 to help mothers receiving welfare achieve self-sufficiency by helping them acquire job skills. The program is housed at the Urban League of Northeastern New York and SUNY's 10 educational opportunity…