Provides a checklist of 40 criteria for an effective child care organization. Criteria involve the areas of planning and evaluation, motivation and control, group functioning, staff development, decision making and problem solving, financial management, and environmental interaction. (BB)

According to one survey, good elementary schools have a strong sense of purpose and are committed to teamwork and staff development. A school board can instigate major improvements by developing a clearly stated policy affirming district commitment to sound early childhood education practices. A sidebar summarizes five characteristics of good…

Effective schools research indicates that a good plan for school improvement grows out of the school and the school system in which it will be used. Outlines 11 components of a school system's improvement plan, and current educational trends to take into account in developing the plan. (MLF)

The Canadian National Institute for the Blind offers services to individuals with vision loss due to Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome. Described are the concerns and feelings of staff members, public and staff education activities, establishment of a referral and service delivery system, and rehabilitative and other services offered. (JDD)

Teachers' actions are thought to produce certain types of student thinking. To devise effective inservice programs, educators must understand four learning principles and five thinking dimensions enabling students to develop positive learning attitudes and acquire, integrate, and extend their knowledge. A new "curriculum" of preservice…

Recipients of Association of Physical Plant Administrators awards for excellence in facilities management in various institutional categories are noted. Specific areas of outstanding achievement include cooperation, energy conservation, attention to detail, use of customer feedback, emergency preparedness, individual employee recognition, utility…

Describes the curriculum reorganization and staff training involved in the desegregation of the Holyoke (Massachusetts) public schools. Suggests strategies for successful integration of a multicultural curriculum. (FMW)

Writing-across-the-curriculum programs in secondary schools may have been fostered by the same body of knowledge as those in colleges and universities, but their evolution has been shaped by a different set of circumstances. Development of articulation programs between these institutions requires an understanding of their different contexts. (MSE)

Reports the findings of a questionnaire distributed to public libraries that serve populations over 100,000 that addressed the professional information needs of librarians. Three major areas are discussed: topics for staff involvement on a national level; conference program formats conducive for such involvement; and major concerns of public…

The QUILT (Questioning and Understanding to Improve Learning and Thinking) program tested the hypothesis that well-designed staff development would positively affect teachers and students. QUILT increased and sustained teacher use of classroom questioning techniques to produce higher levels of student learning and thinking. QUILT participants…

A statewide staff mentoring program was developed in Illinois as an option for providing a personalized, intensive approach to training early intervention personnel on a large scale. Evaluation results for the initial period of developing the process and for the first eight trainer-trainee dyads suggest this approach is individualized,…

Describes the experience of a conservative, suburban school system making the change from traditional classroom instruction to more developmentally appropriate practices. Discusses the planning and implementation process, focusing particularly on the issues of skills acquisition, assessment, staff development, and parent involvement. (TJQ)

Describes how one rural school district in Loogootee (Indiana) has incorporated educational technology in its schools. Discusses the media-retrieval center linking all the classrooms, student television news projects, the computer-assisted design lab, special education rooms, the Internet, funding, policy decision making, and staff development.…

The two major cultures existing on a college campus, collegial/scholarly and administrative/corporate, can operate counterproductively. Campus human resource professionals have a role in reconciling the two cultures through orientation programs for new faculty and staff, promoting social and intellectual interaction of personnel, and communication…

Considers the need for staff training in virtual libraries. Highlights include instruction and training, including in-house training, vendor contracts, and self-paced instruction; documentation; current awareness via professional literature, electronic discussions, bibliographies, and conferences; information filtering through selective…