Features contributing to the success of six city-wide, comprehensive school-age program models are highlighted. Models are Seattle, Washington's Community Partnerships for School-Age Child Care; Madison, Wisconsin's School-Age Child Care Project; Irvine, California's Irvine Child Care Project; Houston, Texas' After-School Partnership; Los Angeles,…

With Cooperative Extension Service (CES) help in a wide range of economic development activities rural America has come a long way in the last several decades toward erasing some of its socioeconomic problems. A survey of CES' Community and Rural Development programs conducted in late 1985 and early 1986 identified a variety of CES activities…

The evaluation system used by the District of Columbia Public Schools is explained. Information is organized to assess four categories: students; instructional personnel; classroom characteristics; and reading programs. The system is used to provide basic profiles and comparative information for four areas of planning: (1) needs assessment; (2)…

This booklet explores the advantages and drawbacks in the employment of artists as teachers at all educational levels. Until recently, arts professionals did not want to hinder their creative work by confining themselves to the place and time of a school situation. Schools generally sought to hire those who wanted education as a career. In 1969…

This monograph presents an overview and evaluation of the three years of development and initial implementation of the Early Childhood-Special Education Teacher Preparation Program (Master's degree level). The Comfield Teacher Preparation Model, a performance-based, field-centered, personalized and systematically designed program of sequences of…

This is the first in a series of articles which will examine the results of a qualitative, longitudinal study of school improvement initiatives from the perspective of school stakeholders. The article captures the responses of students from a low socio-economic status school in NSW, Australia to a school initiative that restructured the learning…

An alternative mathematics preparation program for K-8 teachers is described as an existence proof that steadily increasing effectiveness of STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) preparation is possible. The program is based on treating every lesson in each of five mathematics content and methods courses as objects of study.…

Nationwide, close to 40 million adults lack a high school diploma or a General Educational Development (GED) credential. About a quarter of high school freshmen do not graduate in four years, and while many high school dropouts eventually do attend GED preparation classes, too few ever pass the GED exam or go on to college. Students with only a…

This paper uses time series data from a widely used assessment to identify colleges and universities that demonstrate positive trends on a range of educational effectiveness measures, describe observed patterns of improvement, and examine informants' accounts of factors that contributed to the improvements. This study informs broad questions about…

This article describes how Fayetteville State University's Reading Across the Curriculum (RAC) model developed for use with underprepared students can effectively improve the literacy and academic language skills of those students. The primary goals and objectives of the RAC program are to train faculty members from various disciplines to create…

Although the idea of using a workshop to educate potential users about a set of materials or techniques is not new, the workshops described here go beyond simple dissemination and create ongoing communities of practice that support widespread and sustained improvement in the biochemistry classroom. The degree to which pedagogical innovations…

Many students are capable of reading a chapter, doing the end-of-chapter questions, studying a little bit, and passing the chapter test. Many teachers are in the habit of using a textbook as a crutch to fall back on when creativity is lacking. Others are capable of teaching incredibly creative lessons based on state standards but are bound by the…

Currently, 12 out of every 13 children born will live to celebrate a first birthday. This figure is expected to improve, yet many international organizations and some governments continue to place almost exclusive emphasis on further reducing mortality, with little attention to the development and welfare of the survivors. This book argues that…

This report describes the initial plan, participants, and evaluation of Saint Paul (Minnesota) Children's Initiative (SPCI) during 1993. The SPCI is a family-community program to improve child health, child development, school performance, and to enhance family functioning through formal and informal support systems in Saint Paul/Ramsey county. At…

In 1983, the Illinois Community College Board (ICCB) established a systemwide program review process calling for the evaluation of instructional programs and student and academic support services on a 5-year cycle. This report describes the 1993 program review process and its results, and provides examples of how specific colleges use the review…