The Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE) aims to increase the number of students with disabilities who achieve positive post-school outcomes and engage in higher education or competitive employment opportunities. Through their State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP) and State Personnel Development Grant (SPDG), Alabama is focusing on…

Home visiting is one tool used to prevent child abuse and improve child well-being by providing education and services in families' homes through parent education and connection to community resources. This toolkit provides state policymakers and advocates with strategies for extending and expanding access to state- or federally-funded home…

This brief examines the curricular policies and guidelines of the eighteen Preschool Development or Expansion Grantees. It explores how these states are addressing the curriculum-related requirements of the Preschool Development Grant (PDG) program. This brief clarifies the PDG requirements, discusses aspects of curriculum, and presents a snapshot…

As the need for mentors continues to expand in order to meet organizational and programmatic needs, so does the need for quality mentoring. Although sometimes an immediate need for quantity may foreshadow quality, this should not be the case when utilizing mentoring to achieve goals. Faculty mentor competencies are analyzed to demonstrate the…

This report offers state leaders key areas for action to continue progress in implementing evaluation systems, even as federal policies on teacher evaluation relax state requirements. The Southern Regional Education Board (SREB) offers its current best thinking for how state agencies can make the smartest use of funds, time and partners to refine…

A seamless practice in most classrooms today is one of reading assessment as the tool that informs instruction. When data is used effectively, teachers can provide essential early intervention instruction to prevent reading difficulties from occurring. In most cases, data retrieved from various classroom assessments provide authentic student…

With the increasing adoption of accelerated models of learning comes the necessary step of adapting these models to fit the unique needs of the student population at each individual institution. One such college adapted the ALP (Accelerated Learning Program) model and made specific changes to the target population, structure and scheduling, and…

This work introduces a model of university outreach in rural communities which promotes increasing post-secondary options for rural dwelling African American youth. KEMET (Knowledge and Excellence in Mathematics, Equilibrium, and Technology) Academy is a comprehensive academic enrichment program targeting African American students enrolled in…

The appearance of 3D printers in university libraries opens many opportunities for advancing outreach, teaching, and research programs. The University of Alabama (UA) Libraries recently adopted 3D printing technology and maintains an open access 3D Printing Studio. The Studio consists of a 3D printer, multiple 3D design workstations, and other…

More research is needed to help states evaluate Extension delivery model alternatives. Given funding trends, access to all programs requires regional systems with county offices. The traditional county model provides access to an office but only to some programs. While there will be many differences, only states with specialized educators can make…

This publication is a "collection" of three separate manuscripts: (1) "A Paradigm Shift in Preparing Instructional Leaders" (published in December 2010); (2) "Transitions" (an introduction to the "Revisited manuscript"); and (3) "A Paradigm Shift in Preparing Instructional Leaders Revisited"…

Phipps, Osborne, Dyer, and Ball, (2008) posited that, "Agricultural education in secondary schools has played an important role in enhancing student achievement in the core subject areas…" (p. 4), while Enderlin and Osborne (1992) reported that agricultural students received higher test scores in biology than students in other science…

The National Assessment of Educational Progress--commonly called "The Nation's Report Card"--tells a dismal story: Only 2% of high school seniors in 2010 could answer a simple question about the U.S. Supreme Court's landmark "Brown v. Board of Education" decision. And it's no surprise. Across the country, state educational…

As Internet technology encroached on the public school classroom about a decade ago, Kim Ross, superintendent of the Houston School District in Houston, Minnesota, saw an opportunity. At first, he and his administrative team simply wanted to offer students in the district of 1,300 access to more classes via the web than what a district that size…

Experiential learning has become an important part of the higher education curriculum in the United States. Due to the integration of a "Community Engagement" category in the Classification of Institutions of Higher Education in the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching in 2006, many colleges and universities have recently…