In 2012, the United States Department of Education announced the Race to the Top-District grants. One joint award was made to two large educational cooperatives in the same state that together represented 111 mostly rural schools in 22 districts. One of the grant's identified four essential projects was the implementation of personalized learning.…

In response to the recession that began in 2007, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Barack Obama signed into law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. Law 111-5). At an estimated cost of $831 billion, this economic stimulus package sought to save and create jobs, provide temporary relief to those adversely affected by the…

In response to the recession that began in 2007, the U.S. Congress passed, and President Barack Obama signed into law, the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Pub. Law 111-5). At an estimated cost of $831 billion, this economic stimulus package sought to save and create jobs, provide temporary relief to those adversely affected by the…

The top priority for the U.S. Department of Education's new Race to the Top-District (RTT-D) competition is to create personalized-learning environments to bolster student achievement: "Absolute Priority 1: Personalized Learning Environments. To meet this priority, an applicant must coherently and comprehensively address how it will build on…

Early education has been a growing priority for the Obama administration, and its competitive funding is spurring innovation in this field around the country. In 2013, early education journalist Paul Nyhan, author of this report, conducted case studies of four competitive grant programs that are triggering changes in early education: "Race to…

The National Educational Technology Plan (NETP) calls for the revolutionary transformation of the American educational system. The plan correctly points to the decisions of the late 1800s that still direct educational policy today, and correctly calls the school change efforts evolutionary tinkering. The author, a pioneer in online education…

This booklet is designed to offer state and district policymakers a thoughtful set of questions to ask about school reform models and the organizations that develop them. The questions follow the criteria for schoolwide reform as spelled out in the federal legislation. Policymakers are encouraged to consider these questions as they work with…

PRESENTED ARE A SELECTED GROUP OF PAPERS CHOSEN FROM THOSE GIVEN AT TWO INSTITUTES ON FOSTERING AND REINFORCING INNOVATIVE BEHAVIOR IN SELECTED SCHOOL PERSONNEL. THE TOPICS PRESENTED INCLUDE--(1) THE VALUE OF RESEARCH IN THE CLASSROOM, (2) THE NECESSITY FOR TEACHERS TO BE INNOVATIVE, (3) THE FACTORS RELATED TO ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, (4) THE USE OF…

This booklet offers state, district, and school leaders guidance both in understanding comprehensive school reform and in identifying effective comprehensive school-reform programs and the organizations that develop and help implement them. It focuses on the new federal program known as the Comprehensive School Reform Development (CSRD) Project, a…

This investigation identified purposes, activities, outcomes, and barriers reported by 45 postsecondary model demonstration projects funded by the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS). Outcomes reported most frequently at the individual, program, organizational, and community levels included student assessment, materials…

Preliminary findings of a study that identified characteristics of federally funded change agent programs are presented in this paper. The study examined four federal change agent programs: Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) Title III, Innovative Projects; ESEA Title VII, Bilingual Projects; Vocational Education Act, Part D, Exemplary…

This study subdivides chronologically into two portions. The first deals with the conception of the reform and the circumstances leading up to the publication of the scope of the reform, the institutional infrastructure, and the processes of innovation. These subtopics correspond to the division into objectives, means, and processes. The scope of…

What is the actual distribution of federal financial aid funds across states to students with different characteristics attending various types of institutions? This document presents an effective means of organizing these extensive data in a way that is useful for evaluating the distribution of current federal programs and for estimating changes…

This document contains four research papers of the Vocational Academy (VA) Project which researched alternative forms of vocational education to impact on CETA (Comprehensive Employment and Training Act) eligible participants. (The innovative approach developed incorporated a career ladder concept in skills training.) Preceding them are a…

Numerous innovative educational techniques and programs for children in a rural setting are presented, along with a suggested strategy for change in rural schools. Chapter 1 defines the role of rural education within the perspective of the prime goal of education in America: to provide equal opportunities for all to share in America's wealth.…