A wide body of research shows that consistent participation in high-quality afterschool and summer programs, also called out-of-school time or OST, provides substantial benefits to children and youth and their communities. Youth are more prone to engage in juvenile delinquency, substance abuse and other risky behaviors after 3:00 p.m. if there are…

Within the US Department of Education's new flexibility initiative, there are three key and fundamental areas of focus, each referred to as a "principle." The second of these is that State Education Agencies (SEAs) must develop and implement differentiated recognition, accountability, and support to assure that all students are taught by…

Media depictions of San Francisco show idyllic images of fog pouring under the Golden Gate Bridge or happy tourists riding cable cars, but rarely the mostly nonwhite neighborhoods of the east side. San Francisco public schools have a bad track record of mimicking this masquerade, with very low numbers of African American and Latina/o students…

We report on a succession planning pilot project in an Australian university health faculty. The programme aimed to enhance organisational stability and develop leadership capacity in middle level academics. Six monthly sessions addressed university and general leadership topics, communication, decision-making, working with change, self-management…

Background: Turkey is a fast-developing country facing a lot of different problems. One of the problems is inadequate education. A large project was started to improve Turkish elementary education. The project includes many different purposes from physical refurbishment of school buildings, to increasing technology use in education. The author of…

There has been much media speculation and general conversation about the crisis of masculinity, the lack of male role models--in particular, the lack of fathers, and how many boys are becoming a "lost" generation. An 2002 Australian House of Representatives report "Boys: Getting it right" investigated this issue in depth and…

This report, and the accompanying tables, provide the findings of the 14th annual survey of College Construction prepared for "College Planning & Management" magazine. Representatives of Market Data Retrieval (MDR) sent survey forms and made follow-up telephone calls to every college in the U.S. seeking information on their…

The question of remodeling an existing house to make it wheelchair accessible or building a new barrier-free house is a difficult decision. This article presents some initial questions and considerations followed by a list of pros and cons for remodeling an existing house vs. building a new house.

This article describes the Educational Quality Facilities project undertaken by Italy's Campania Region to provide quality facilities to all of its communities basing new spaces on the "Flexible Learning Module". The objectives of the five-year project are to: build and equip new educational spaces; improve the quality of existing…

This brief underscores the need to rethink the proliferation of school teams, work groups, and committees. While such mechanisms are essential to enhancing school improvement, they must be designed in a delimited way to carry out fundamental functions and must be fully integrated with each other. From a functional perspective, because of current…

School closure is a journey of uncertainty and loss that inspires strong emotions and opposition. Many factors contribute to school closure. Demographics of neighborhoods change; young families might settle in the suburbs to buy newer, bigger homes, causing enrollment in city-center schools to decline. In addition, some school districts have…

Creating green schools often hinges on administrators. Principals, superintendents, and other school leaders have the authority and skill sets to make important, even if incremental, progress toward creating green learning environments. This article provides background and reference information that will help administrators with their initial…

Over the past two decades, inner-city communities have witnessed double-digit joblessness among an increasing number of residents who are relegated to the status of the "permanent" unemployed or the permanent underclass. These residents cannot hope to be competitive in a changing and evolving labor market. Relying on public assistance, low-wage…

Most of the applied drama and theatre projects being carried out in African contexts tend to be one-off events with limited follow-up in terms of building the capacity of target communities and organising them for action. Besides bringing people together for workshops, performances and post-performance discussions, such projects simply pass by…

Schools certified under the LEED [Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design] certification support educational programs are the beacons to sustain our Earth. Green schools are a mechanism for learning and their existence is pure example for the future of school facility planning. The purpose of this article is to discuss the various approaches…