Check & Connect was created in a five year period from 1990 to 1995. The original manual, entitled "Keeping Kids in School: Using Check & Connect for Dropout Prevention" and written by David Evelo, Mary Sinclair, Christine Hurley, Sandra Christenson, and Martha Thurlow, was published in 1996 (ED398701). This newly revised Check…

A high performing school is described as one where student achievement is high and student and teacher absenteeism is low. Student behavior is such that teachers seldom have to control them or tell them what to do. This results in greater time on task, higher teacher morale, low teacher absenteeism, and improved parental support. One other…

University-based teacher-education programmes in the USA confront mounting pressure to demonstrate that graduates will have a significant and positive impact on student achievement. Such pressure has forced teacher educators to wrestle with the question of what constitutes compelling evidence that teacher candidates will indeed have such an…

The people at Inverness Research Associates spent 12 years studying Community Science Workshops (CSW) in California and in six other states. They gathered statistics on the scale, scope, and cost-efficiency of CSW services to youth. They observed youth at work in the shops--taking apart computers, repairing bikes, growing plants, and so on--and…

Complete your review of where science education in the U.S. is heading with this wide-ranging look at secondary-level science curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Through lively examples of classroom practice, interviews with award-winning science teachers and science education experts, and a thorough review of the research, discover how…

Organizational capacity refers to the ability of nonprofit organizations to fulfill their missions in an effective manner. Through the JVA Consulting Colorado Compassion Initiative, a comprehensive, capacity-building program was developed and provided for faith- and community-based organizations. This study examined faith-based organizations'…

This paper provides a critical analysis of New Zealand's Performance Based Research Fund (PBRF). The first section sketches the development and implementation of the PBRF. The second section evaluates the scheme, concentrating on three themes: the relationship between privatization, competition and research performance; the standardization of…

This publication reports on the 1994-95 activities of the South Carolina Center for Teacher Recruitment including the status of programs, mission, goals and budget for the next year. The Center was established in 1985 and has become a national model for teacher recruitment. Its most widely known programs are: Minority Recruitment, Crossroads…

The link between time and learning is one of the most consistent findings in educational research. This handbook describes a process for developing effective use of instructional time through the identification of important decision-making criteria and the use of these criteria to create a school schedule. The handbook describes an 11-step…

This primer on youth development is intended to help communities rethink youth services in the context of the larger community. It offers guidance about the changes necessary to plan for and accept new ideas. The youth development approach advocated by the Family and Youth Services Bureau (FYSB) suggests that helping young people achieve their…

This report reviews the outcomes of a forum convened to examine policy and practice issues surrounding the annual evaluation of effectiveness of programs and services for students with disabilities. At the forum, alternative approaches being used by states to implement program evaluation were discussed, along with issues in gathering…

Teacher induction may be defined as the period of transition from student to professional when beginning teachers need supervision and support to adjust to their new roles. Concerns within the profession about the large numbers of beginning teachers leaving the profession during their first 2 years as well as innovative reforms origination from…

The engine that drives the America 2000 strategy is the Community Challenge--a nationwide movement designed to help America move itself, community by community, toward the six National Education Goals. A community can do four things to become an America 2000 community: (1) adopt the six national education goals; (2) develop a communitywide…

A program was developed at a local college to provide directors of child care centers, Head Start programs, nursery schools, and school-based early childhood programs with formal training in administration, supervision, and program development to help them better manage their programs. The program was the result of a collaborative effort by…

The Higher Education Coordinating Board (HECB) of the state of Washington is charged with the responsibility for approval of new degree programs to be offered by public four-year institutions. It is responsible for the review and approval of both on- and off-campus programs, including branch campus offerings. This report offers guidelines and…