The Learning Initiatives Program (LIP), formerly the Learning Initiatives Fund (LIF), is a contribution program which was established in 1994 to encourage and support initiatives that contribute to the development of a results-oriented, accessible, relevant and accountable learning system in Canada. Through this program, Human Resources and Skills…

This paper overviews strategies employed by the Appalachian Rural Systemic Initiative (ARSI) to implement systemic reform in math, science, and technology education in rural Appalachia. ARSI is one of four Rural Systemic Initiative projects funded by the National Science Foundation to target regions characterized by low population density and high…

Today’s schools are complex systems with complex problems. Addressing those problems often requires significant change efforts. However, many school administrators don’t know how to select a focus for these efforts or how to lead staff through such changes--and even if they did, the job is too large for one person. One solution to this dilemma is…

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) provided $9 billion in education benefits to service-members and veterans in fiscal year 2010, mostly through the new Post-9/11 GI Bill. In providing education benefits, VA relies on State Approving Agencies (SAA) to approve schools; and on schools to report students' enrollment status. US Government…

Effective principals are those who boost academic achievement for all students, increase the effectiveness of their teaching staffs, and consistently take leadership actions shown to improve outcomes for students. Therefore principal evaluation systems should place 70% of their weight on the ability of principals to increase student achievement…

The Detroit Healthy Youth Initiative is a 10-year partnership between the Detroit Public Schools (DPS) and Wayne State University (WSU) with the goal of improving the quality of school health and physical education programs throughout the city schools. Drawing on the experiences of WSU and DPS faculty, administrators, teachers, and project staff,…

This 6-year project sought to develop programs to impact student academic success and retention. Three separate programs were developed to serve the learning improvement needs of different constituents and situations. All programs were offered at a large, land-grant research university. The Residential Success Program was designed to provide…

Voices concerns over expansion of writing centers. Suggests that writing centers planning to expand should articulate the basic premises upon which their center was built. Suggests that a program of expansion be accompanied by a careful examination of the center's power structure. Urges all writing center expansion preserve a strong human…

In 2005, all 50 state governors made an unprecedented commitment to voluntarily implement a common, more reliable formula for calculating their states' high school graduation rates by signing the National Governors Association (NGA) Graduation Counts Compact. Four years later, progress is steady. Twenty states now report that they use the Compact…

This edition features current research, practice, and policy related to the Joyce Foundation's Shifting Gears initiative beginning with an interview with Whitney Smith, Manager of the Employment Program at the Joyce Foundation. Julie Strawn, Center for Law and Social Policy, presents a national perspective of basic skills reform efforts similar to…

The failure of better science to readily produce better services has led to increasing interest in the science and practice of implementation. The results of recent reviews of implementation literature and best practices are summarized in this article. Two frameworks related to implementation stages and core implementation components are described…

Over the past 30 years, researchers have repeatedly demonstrated the need to improve academic advising. Nonetheless, at many Universities academic advising remains a neglected endeavor--poorly measured, managed and rewarded. This paper considers the implementation of an academic advising program which parallels the 360-Degree feedback approach…

A need for the development of a policy research base regarding state implementation pf evidence-based practice (EBP) is emphasized. Efforts are made on how to make use of EBP in everyday clinical practice as a means of improving outcomes in six states.

This publication presents information on 53 basic skills programs in Wisconsin that were identified as successful by the planning committee for the Governor's Conference on Basic Skills. Programs focus on mathematics, reading, writing, computer-assisted instruction, basic skills approaches, learning centers, career education, adult literacy,…

Results are presented from the first two years of implementation of Detroit's Peer Teachers as Mirrors and Monitors Project. The data describe reading and mathematics achievement in grades 1-4 at two schools which participated in the project interventions, and one comparison school. Results indicate that: (1) teachers' appropriate use of time…