The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEA) of 2004 established a requirement that all states develop and submit to the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) a performance plan designed to improve the educational and functional outcomes for children with disabilities. The state plan must…

This collection of papers shows the significant achievements that can be made through collective strategies that empower the poor to become active partners in revitalizing their neighborhoods. The 12 chapters are: (1) "The Role of Social Capital in Combating Poverty" (Mark R. Warren, J. Phillip Thompson, and Susan Saegert); (2) "Social Capital and…

The High/Scope Curriculum is a developmentally based approach to early childhood education. This curriculum's "Extensions" newsletter, in which the articles in this collection first appeared, informs curriculum users about new development, relating to the High/Scope "open framework" curriculum. This collection divides the…

The aim of school councils in New South Wales (Australia) is to ensure that the whole community is involved in all important decisions made by the school. The impetus for school councils began in 1990, and in 1995 the Department of School Education placed their formation on its priority agenda in response to their slow rate of establishment. Two…

The success of the Minimbah Aboriginal Preschool in New South Wales (Australia) is evidenced by happy staff and children, low staff turnover, and the later success of Minimbah's children in mainstream schools. Also, parents were frequently present as helpers and were apparently confident in entering the premises, talking with staff members, and…

This videotape explains common vision tests used with infants with multiple disabilities, shows how to gather information from parents on their children's use of vision, and demonstrates selected early intervention strategies for encouraging infants and young children with multiple disabilities to use their vision in functional ways. The videotape…

This publication is intended to help foundation program officers, educators, and organizers use the Education Organizing Indicators Framework to understand the contribution that community organizing makes to school reform. The Framework is the product of a study that examined five community groups to document how organized groups of parents and…

This paper examines school reform via community organizing in New York City's lowest performing public school districts. It summarizes findings from a national study on community organizing for school reform, profiling 10 community organizing groups. In 2000, researchers conducted surveys of and interviews with all NYC groups currently engaged in…

This monograph provides research-based information on the counseling needs of gifted and talented students, as well as effective counseling approaches to meeting those needs. Following an historical overview of counseling programs for the gifted, sections specifically address the self-concept of gifted and talented students, at-risk students,…

The Baltimore City Public School System (BCPSS) serves the highest number of low income and special needs students in the state, struggling to create effective educational environments that respond to students' social and economic needs. While there have been many restructuring efforts through the BCPSS' history, the modern era of school reform…

Rural students face many challenges in gaining a sound education, but one of the advantages they have is that their schools are set in a community context that values a sense of place and offers a unique set of conditions for building social capital. A school-community partnership model of school renewal might be an appropriate means by which…

The journey for children who are gifted and talented can be exciting and challenging. There are so many twists and turns, detours, and confusing signs that many parents feel they need some sort of road map to guide their children on this journey. Because each child is different, there is no one road map to follow. What this handbook can offer…

This action research project examined the impact of a program for improving age-inappropriate behaviors that interfere with personal and academic progress. A total of 69 students from 3 elementary classrooms and 2 speech therapy groups were involved in the research. The targeted population consisted of fourth and sixth graders; students with…

An approach to assessment is described that allows students to understand and help decide the criteria for good work. It is called "negotiable contracting." Negotiable contracting consists of giving students shared ownership in their own learning. The teacher serves as a facilitator of discussion of the assessment process. Students and the…

How one public school used its diversity to foster community, while protecting itself from exclusivity, was studied. This study challenges the assumption that a community-like ethos is impossible in an urban neighborhood public school that has no special admissions requirements. Case study methodology, with almost 250 hours of observation of…