Since 1987 Hezel Associates has documented statewide activities in educational telecommunications and distance learning. This is the seventh edition in the series of reports. The analysis reports on telecommunications and distance learning initiatives primarily; however, it also describes the broader technology initiatives that encompass many of…

With the intention that Library Services and Technology Act (LSTA) funds provide for the continual improvement and enhancement of all library and information services in Georgia, this five-year plan addresses the LSTA law by establishing major statewide priorities and supporting goals and activities/objectives that reflect the purposes and…

As states work to provide public funds for early care and education programs, they need data on the current system to better provide a system that supports parents' need to work, promotes healthy child development, and ensures the educational quality of all early education and care programs. This report provides Massachusetts' policy makers with a…

The Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 authorized a comprehensive workforce improvement program that will significantly impact rural areas. Local schools can help shape implementation of WIA because of its principles of local participation, increased skills for workers, and improved youth programs. This digest focuses on WIA's major elements,…

The Migrant Education Program (MEP) is a federal formula grant to states for educational services to migrant children, ages 3-21, who made an eligible move in the past 3 years. States use MEP funds to address effects of continual educational disruption by providing instructional or supporting services. This report summarizes participation…

This paper reports on an ongoing effort of the Vermont Mental Health Performance Indicator Project (PIP) to examine the relevance and utility of standardized test scores for evaluating community mental health programs. This analysis is of test scores from Vermont's first four years of statewide testing. The study is examining anonymous…

This study was designed to document the processes and dynamics of two multidisciplinary teams under the Access Vermont program, which provides services for children and youth with serious emotional disabilities and their families. In both cases, local interagency teams in the largely rural catchment areas developed plans for an initiative focused…

An Educational Technology Institute (ETI) has been offered annually by the New Mexico State Department of Education cooperatively and collaboratively with numerous other groups since its inception in 1990. The 1995 ETI was developed to address implementation of New Mexico's 1994 Technology for Education Act. This act provides for funding…

Smart Start is North Carolina's model early childhood initiative to help all North Carolina children enter school healthy and prepared for success. Serving all 100 counties in the state, Smart Start's services include child care subsidies and health and family support services. This report describes the program, focusing on its impact on the…

Recognizing the critical role that quality child care plays in the lives of working families, in children's health and development, and in the state economy, the Alaska Child Care Program promotes quality, affordable, and accessible child care for Alaska's children and families that allows parents to work or train for employment, and that supports…

This study used data from the Kentucky Instructional Results Information System (KIRIS) to evaluate the participation of students with disabilities in the state's comprehensive assessment system. Data on students in grades 4, 8, and 11 during the academic years 1994-1995 through 1996-1997 were collected and analyzed. Results are reported in terms…

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), offers the most comprehensive picture available of the education system in the United States. The aim of this study is to show the potential value of a linkage between SASS and data on student academic achievement. To achieve this aim, the…

The Urban Systemic Initiatives (USI) program is an effort sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) that targets large urban school systems with the goal of sustainable implementation of high-quality, standards-based teaching for the purpose of attaining system-wide increases in students' learning of challenging mathematics and science.…

The primary objective of this study was to investigate overall patterns of gender differences and similarities of test performance in mathematics. To achieve that objective, observed test scores on the Delaware standards-based assessment were analyzed to examine: (1) gender differences and similarities across grades 3, 5, 8 and 10 over 2 years;…

This implementation guide for Career Pathways (an Ohio educational plan linking academic, technological, and occupational course work and other educational experiences, leading to a career specialty) is a resource for leaders planning and implementing career pathways in vocational education planning districts and school districts. The document…