This article describes the PAR (Preventing, Acting upon, and Resolving) Comprehensive Behavior Management System, a process-based model in which collaborative teams work together to form consensus on a positive and supportive school-wide approach to behavior management. It highlights the content and processes used to introduce and sustain the…

Explores the effects of previous exposure to the Reach Out to Schools: Social Competency Program (SCP) on the middle school adjustment of sixth grade students. SCP is designed to teach children social skills to help them to communicate better, solve problems and build stronger relationships. Results show associations between program exposure and…

This editorial describes the role of early intervention programs in helping children with disabilities, focusing on parents' and infants' needs, the Family Service Plan, and the role of case managers. The editorial cautions that: early intervention's effectiveness is unproven, early is not always better, and more is not always better. (JDD)

Forty-three general educators were assigned to one of three versions of the Behavioral Consultation model, to assess the model's effects on problem behavior of difficult-to-teach intermediate-grade students. Observations of student behavior indicated that more inclusive Behavioral Consultation versions exerted stronger effects than the least…

School leaders must make good decisions about sex education based on valid information. This article presents 17 arguments most frequently advanced by groups opposing comprehensive sexuality education and examines the scientific literature to determine those arguments' validity. Topics include abstinence instruction, intimate sexual behavior…

Assessed impact of comprehensive social service program on educational and psychological functioning of 152 adjudicated adolescents. Pretesting provided evidence of significant academic underachievement in all areas, as well as significant disturbances in psychosocial functioning. Posttesting documented improvements in all areas of academic…

The progress of 55 clients (ages 18-71) during their first year in a program for persons who are both mentally retarded and psychiatrically impaired was described. The clients increased their level of independence and decreased their frequency of problem behaviors. Unmet needs of this population for residential alternatives and community supports…

This review examines factors impacting on substantiation rates for central registries of child abuse and neglect cases. Technical factors were not found to affect substantiation rates, though certain legal factors were somewhat associated with lower substantiation rates. The use of risk assessment models is recommended to improve rates without…

Tested the effectiveness of intensive, in-home family reunification services in reunifying families separated by the placement of a child in out-of-home care. After 90 days, 93% of the families assigned to receive the intensive treatment were reunited, compared to 28% of families in a control group who received routine out-of-home care services.…

Defining hunger on the basis of poverty or other nonphysiological criteria is misleading. With nutritional data used by human-service agencies, suggests programs with such conception of hunger hurt the efforts at nutritional change. Uses central Mississippi as an example to propose objective nutritional definition and assessment. (TES)

Effectiveness of a supervised visitation program to maintain the relationship between parents and adjudicated children in foster care is explored using a retrospective design. Participating families were more likely to have a visit and had more visits than nonparticipating families. Case closure results also support the value of the program.…

A study examined the effectiveness of implementing a pre-correction and active supervision strategy on the rate of problem behavior during recess. The intervention reduced rates of problem behavior exhibited by elementary students (N=475), but was not effective in increasing rates of active supervision on the part of playground monitors. (Contains…

Examines principles to consider when evaluating the impact of outdoor-based experiences, including developing a rationale for the evaluation, determining the emphasis of the evaluation, and applying appropriate criteria to the evaluation process. Discusses difficulties associated with control groups, sampling bias, time period of evaluation, and…

During the early 1970s, over 150 school districts and several states contracted with private companies to deliver instruction, and the Nixon Administration initiated a vast privatization field experiment in Texarkana. None of these performance contracting experiments significantly improved instruction. Instead, they raised issues of staffing,…

Teachers implementing a local history project in Belmont, California, had help from a federally funded technology innovation challenge grant: the Challenge 2000 Multimedia Project. Sponsored by a Silicon Valley school-business partnership, the initiative illustrates how technology can transform classroom learning while supporting instructional…