Youth violence and delinquency are problems that continue to challenge many communities across the U.S. For over a decade, Pennsylvania has been a national leader in confronting youth problem behaviors in a progressive and proactive fashion, investing heavily in supporting local community prevention coalitions and the use of proven-effective…

This article analyses change of time use and time allocation in three schools participating in a Swedish five-year national experiment in which State regulation of teaching time was weakened. Participating schools could freely decide how to use and distribute teaching time. The experiment was launched at a late stage in a 25-year decentralisation…

Highlighting the need for a redefinition and redirection of social services for children and families, this report proposes a new model for social services that can enhance the development of children and the functioning of families. Two essential and interrelated components of the model described and discussed are: (1) supporting and expanding…

In August 1993 the Policy Exchange of the Institute for Educational Leadership held a seminar with an individual who was able to provide the perspectives of both educational practitioner and federal policy maker. Thomas Payzant, previously the superintendent of the San Diego (California) public schools, was at that time beginning his work as…

This practical guide includes information from a 3-year study that set out to describe the range of practices in content-English-as-a-Second-Language (content-ESL) programs in the United States. The guide is based on the field reports of 20 school site visits; offers guidance for starting, implementing, and sustaining a content-ESL program; and…

On October 20, 1994, President Clinton signed into law the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994. This statute contains amendments to the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, including the reauthorization of Chapter 1, as the newly entitled Title I. The reauthorized Title I drastically restructures the direction of former remedial…

This paper offers six steps for developing and implementing a self-management program to improve children's social behaviors on the school playground. Introductory information provides a literature review of self-management strategies and programs. The self-management program recommended is divided into three broad phases encompassing assessment,…

The growing demand for colleges and universities to be accountable to their publics and the recognition that assessment is of little value without a systematic planning effort have led many institutions to turn to the concept of Total Quality Management (TQM). This pamphlet discusses the process of adapting TQM to a typical community college, a…

This handbook was designed to help school administrators, teachers, and community members make a successful transition from a junior high school to a middle school. The focus is on the process rather than content. Chapter 1 provides an example of how one junior high school faculty and administration made the shift to a middle school. Chapter 2…

Project Comienzo, a bilingual pre-kindergarten program, was designed to help Spanish-speaking 3-year-old children flourish academically and socially, supported by the ratio of adults to children. The program served 17 students of limited English proficiency. A full-time bilingual teacher and a full-time educational assistant were used, and parents…

Evaluations of multisite programs present special challenges to evaluators concerned with the use of evaluation results. This paper offers an approach that holds promise for mitigating the problems inherent in evaluating programs at multiple sites. A brief analysis is presented of the challenges these programs present and the reasons these…

In response to the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act and its amendments, most urban schools have created special programs for homeless students to help them succeed academically and to offer them access to social services and a safe and stress-free environment. Recruitment, enrollment, and service coordination policies are adapted to the…

With growing population diversity a feature of both the work force and the schools, a study was conducted to explore what implications diversity has for school preparation. Data from a national longitudinal study of students enrolled in both secondary and postsecondary programs featuring emerging vocationalism (programs featuring tech prep,…

This document presents findings of a commissioned survey that explored public attitudes toward a number of issues affecting K-12 education in Saskatchewan. Data were derived from telephone interviews with 708 individuals and focus-group interviews. Of the telephone sample, 54 percent had children attending school. Themes that emerged were…

During the 1994-95 school year, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) used a grant from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction to implement a pilot intervention/prevention program that would enhance, through coordinated services, the educational attainment of at-risk students. The program included two major components--a…