The Freshman Advising Program at Illinois Benedictine College is described. The program was developed to improve the quality of academic advising and to lower the student attrition rate. (MLW)

A clinical pharmacy certificate program, the most popular among Alabama pharmacists, is described, including statistics concerning enrollment, participant characteristics, factors important in pharmacists' entering and leaving the program, and pharmacists' views of the program's strengths and weaknesses. (MSE)

Describes and evaluates a model for agency-based staff development training for a county mental health unit. Concludes it can be a useful way to identify and resolve problems. (Author/MCF)

Describes the University of Utah's experiment in liberal education, involving almost 100 freshmen in an integrated series of courses designed to promote educational and social growth. Explains that diversity among students and among teachers affected the programs' success, with approaches working for one student (or teacher) not working for…

Describes a modification of Goal Attainment Scaling (G.A.S.) used within a day program for pregnant and parent teenagers. G.A.S. provides the users with immediate, understandable feedback, and allows helping professionals to form a working relationship with their clients in a relatively short time span. (JAC)

Describes Project P.S. 137, implemented in a New York City public school. Affiliated with the University of Oregon's Direct Instruction Model, the project involved kindergarten, first-, second-, and third-grade classes. Students in the program consistently surpassed mean performance levels of comparable disadvantaged inner-city students on…

Suggests that the single most important common denominator of the various types of self-help groups examined may be that the role of the person who has already lived through the experience is critical for helping others. (Author/AM)

This document is the final report of the McGregor-funded High/Scope training initiative, a system-wide approach to improving the quality of early childhood programs in the Detroit metropolitan area. The 3-year project was based on the validated High/Scope educational approach and training model, which advocates hands-on active learning for both…

Selecting an effective prevention program for a comprehensive intervention can be a daunting task. Not only must the program address the specific needs and assets of the defined population, but also there should be a level of confidence about its ability to produce positive outcomes regardless of differing settings and differing populations. The…

Noting that the School Breakfast Program provides breakfast to millions of low-income children who otherwise might go hungry in the morning and be less ready to learn, this report is the tenth from the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) to report how well the program is reaching children in need. Data were obtained from state reports to the…

In this paper, educators in a suburban middle school promote the positive educational outcomes from an alternating-day block schedule at their middle school. Comparisons are cited in student achievement and school climate indicators between the block schedule and the eight-period day with shorter classes. The paper cites several advantages of the…

In fall 1998, the Maryland State Department of Education and six schools began a pilot program to evaluate the impact of serving breakfast to students in the classroom as part of the school day. Students in participating schools have an opportunity to eat breakfast in their classroom each day at no charge, regardless of family income. The program,…

This annual report details the accomplishments of the Alaska Head Start Program for fiscal year 1998. The report begins with a graphic presentation of the locations of Alaska Head Start programs and a table delineating the administrative and program partners of Head Start, its service population, eligibility requirements, funding sources, service…

Considering 61 reading tutoring programs established in response to the "America Reads Challenge," this publication encourages all Americans to collaborate with classroom teachers and parents so that every child can read well and independently by the third grade. It discusses ways to build effective partnerships among the community, and…

This annual report is the first to detail the services and achievements of Alaska's Division of Early Development. The report begins with a letter from the state's Department of Education Commissioner and a description of the Division, formed in 1999 to strengthen the ring of services for young children and their families in Alaska. The remainder…