This article discusses leaders who make a difference, especially in school districts where a single superintendent impacts the lives of so many children, teachers, staff, and community members every day. There is a need to mentor the ongoing professional learning and development of key leaders. The authors report on a process in Kansas, USA, which…

Less than 25 percent of college students who take any developmental education courses earn a credential within eight years. Over the past three years, the six states in the Developmental Education Initiative have developed and enacted unprecedented changes in policy and practice in an effort to reverse these dismal outcomes. "Ahead of the…

In November 1996, forty-five higher education technology leaders convened in Washington, D.C., to discuss the virtual university (VU). The Western Governors Association had announced establishment of the Western Governors University (WGU). As a result, VU initiatives were emerging from, or being contemplated by, almost every state-level higher…

This report contains profiles of the 145 schools in Utah that continued to receive funding as second- or third-year Centennial Schools during 1998-99. First enacted into law by the 1993 Legislature, the Centennial Schools Program has developed into a catalyst for change involving over 300 schools in 35 of the state's 40 school districts. The…

Contributions derived from ESEA Title III funds to the new environmental thrusts in American education are portrayed in this quarterly journal. These funds have provided opportunities for development of innovative, model environmental education programs in many local school districts. Responding to new educational needs, the projects have sought…

One of six projects funded by P.L. 93-247 state grant money, the Foster Child Advocate Services (FOCAS) Project established a guardian "ad litem" program in which court-approved members of the community volunteered to visit children in Texas State Department of Human Resources Conservatorships. Part I of the report, describing the…

This description of New Jersey's public vocational education program emphasizes its nondiscriminatory and innovative features. (SJL)

The Iowa Statewide Delivery System provided for the educational needs of 267,000 adults throughout the State in 1973-74. Fifteen area schools offered programs in adult basic education, high school completion, general adult and continuing education, and career supplementary education, as well as other innovative programs. (MW)

Contained in this report are brief descriptions of 68 innovative vocational education programs which are presently underway in 42 states. These resumes are intended to help State leadership personnel in planning improved vocational programs. (BH)

This report describes ongoing efforts of the Maine Department of Education to encourage high school improvement through state-level actions. Three intertwined strategies have added value to the individual schools' improvement efforts, including: (1) the drafting of a statewide reform framework called Promising Futures; (2) the creation of a new…

This National Council on Disability (NCD) report defines or describes financial incentives affecting people with disabilities and presents research findings in key areas of people's lives, such as education and health care. It also describes selected state-level innovations affecting asset development and wealth accumulation. In addition, the…

The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education developed a pilot parent education program that began in 1981 and was available to parents of children in the state's 543 school districts. In 1984, the state legislature provided funding for the program and mandated that it be made available to all parents of children under 3 years of…

This final report describes a coordinated dissemination program that was developed to help provide educational information to the teaching personnel of the Puerto Rico Department of Education. Objectives, problems, accomplishments, and recommendations are included; appendices provide the program's budget, the questionnaire used to assess the needs…

While most information dissemination activity in education is taking place at the national level within systems that emphasize documents, such as ERIC, the most important developments for individual teachers should take place at the state and local levels. SEEKER III, a local automated system in Michigan, is tied in with the Michigan Department of…

An evaluation design created to provide information for a multiple-project program of educational experimentation is presented. Project SEED (State Experimentation in Educational Development) became an official education effort in North Carolina on July 1, 1971. Model for the program was that of the State's ESEA Title III program with certain…