The term "college and career ready" has become widely used as a result of the proposed Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) reauthorization and Common Core State Standards movement. As schools move toward what may be considered a moral and economic imperative for the nation's students, it is essential that they first identify the gaps of…

Public charter schools across the country are struggling to better serve a range of students with disabilities. Using the approach of a participatory evaluation, a K-8 college preparatory school community of teachers, administrators, parents, and students were better able to define those practices that impeded or supported a high-quality proactive…

This study draws from 4 years of qualitative case study data to describe how programmatic and district factors interacted to affect reform sustainability in two school districts--one urban and the other suburban. These districts have been implementing a reform developed by the National Network of Partnership Schools (NNPS) for over a decade. NNPS…

Helping students make the transition to high school and preparing them for postsecondary learning is built into the day-to-day processes at Statesville (NC) High School. The author and his staff members always strive to do what is best for the students. Because statistics indicate that the freshman class is always the largest and the senior class…

Almost immediately after he was named Commissioner of Education in March 2011, Stephen Bowen traveled to school districts across Maine and spoke to students, teachers, school administrators and community members about what they saw as the challenges confronting Maine's schools and what role they saw for the Maine Department of Education in…

Growing consensus among experts holds that youth who come under court supervision have multiple issues that require comprehensive and coordinated services and strategies to help them prepare for and attain jobs at wages that will sustain a constructive life path. A comprehensive approach, in theory, reduces dependency and breaks the pervasive…

This publication on best practices in crisis prevention and intervention is divided among the concepts of primary, secondary, and tertiary prevention. The introductory chapter examines crisis theory and establishes a foundation for the comprehensive crisis prevention and intervention team. It also attempts to bridge the gap between theory and…

Title XI of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act as amended by the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994 allows the Dallas (Texas) public schools to redirect up to 5% of each appropriation received through the Act for the purpose of providing a comprehensive approach to meeting the educational, health, social service, and other needs of…

Programs targeting at-risk young adolescents, aged 10 to 15 years, were studied through a literature review and examination of issues related to evaluating programs for at-risk youth, and site visits to 9 programs at 6 locations. Chapter 1 introduces the study and its objectives, and chapter 2 reviews the literature on youth at risk. Chapter 3…

Describes a nationally recognized service program that delivers integrated mental health and substance abuse services to children and youth with a wide range of problems. The model incorporates elements of primary and secondary prevention and community outreach into service delivery. Program components are discussed in detail. (RJM)

Describes a program which draws on interagency collaboration, principles of care, needs assessment, and other components to create a community-based system of care. Presents the rationale for each of these components and how they were implemented, data on the children and families served by the program, and a case study. (RJM)

Describes the progressive development of a five-year, school-based, systems change initiative for students with emotional and behavioral disabilities and their families. The program integrates mental health, education, and other family-focused services into a more flexible system. Discusses evaluation data in the context of the systems change…

The "2001-02 Budget Act" included approximately $127 million to fund 19 different outreach programs designed to encourage and support high school students to attend college. Since some programs also receive additional funds from federal, private, and local school districts the combined outreach program revenue is even greater. Over the…