Describes key provisions of two recent federal program for rural schools: The Rural and Small Schools Achievement Program for rural districts with fewer than 600 students and the Rural and Low Income School Program for larger, high-poverty rural districts. (PKP)

A study of AmeriCorps programs in four western states found the federally funded corporation is accomplishing its objective to operate in a nonpartisan, politically neutral manner. AmeriCorps participation significantly increased community involvement, with no differences by gender, race, or political orientation. (Contains 81 references.) (JOW)

A framework of general evaluation criteria for ensuring the comprehensiveness of program reviews and appropriate and fair comparison of children's programs is outlined. It has two components: (1) descriptive; and (2) evaluative. The framework was developed by researchers at the General Accounting Office for evaluation of federal programs. (TJH)

Describes the programs of the Corporation for National Service such as Senior Service Corps, Learn and Serve America, AmeriCorps, Foster Grandparents, Retired and Senior Volunteer Program, and Seniors for Schools. (JOW)

Research demonstrates that being well-fed is an important first step toward children's achievement. Nutrition programs are cost-effective interventions that can help children learn and grow. Local agencies can offer children meals and snacks through several federal nutrition programs (e.g., Summer Food Service Program, Child and Adult Care Food…

This annual newsletter contains updates on the latest Community College Research Center (CCRC) research, new publications and details of upcoming presentations at major conferences. The feature article in this issue, "Strategies for Increasing Student Success," by Thomas Bailey, summarizes the discussion found in the CCRC Assessment of Evidence…

During SY 2009-2010, the Bureau of Indian Education (BIE) continued their efforts to improve the validity and reliability of data reporting. BIE data collections are dependent on school level entry (self reporting) into the Native American Student Information System (NASIS) or into the Bureau's Annual Report from the schools. In addition,…

This report provides educators and policymakers with information they can use to celebrate their successes, understand their unique challenges, and set meaningful goals to increase opportunity for all students. It is important to note that while AP® Exams are valid measures of students' content mastery of college-level studies in specific academic…

Over the past three years, the authors' team at Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC) has been researching a professional development program in science, "Foundations of Science Literacy" ("FSL"), for preschool lead and assistant Head Start teachers in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Year 1 was a pilot year, so it is the…

No Child Left Behind requires school districts to demonstrate adequate yearly progress in mathematics for all students, including the sub-population of disabled students. Given that more than 200 Ohio school districts have implemented Everyday Mathematics (EM) to achieve this mandate, districts need to know if this standards-based program meets…

The McGovern-Dole International Food for Education and Child Nutrition Program (McGovern-Dole program) helps support education, child development, and food security for some of the world's poorest children. It provides for donations of U.S. agricultural products, as well as financial and technical assistance, for school feeding and maternal and…

The Office of Head Start/Region 11 serves nearly 23,000 American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) children in 26 States throughout the country: Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina,…

Every child deserves a great school. When kids fail or schools fail, parents must engage and help restore them to the path of success. That assistance is especially called-for during a process called "Restructuring"--a status in federal law that requires schools to make major changes due to dreadful student test scores year-after-year.…

This study examines teacher diversity in a federally-funded mathematics and science partnership program. Each of the partnerships in the program provided preservice and/or inservice education for teachers in mathematics, science, or both. Researchers used qualitative and quantitative methods to examine the effect of strategies implemented by the…

Across the nation, schools increasingly are tapping into a vast resource pool--retired educators. The potential effects of the retirement boom--baby boomers reaching retirement age--have been well documented. An April 2009 "New York Times" article estimates that by 2013, more than one-third of the nation's 3.2 million teachers could…