In 2003, the last state university undergraduate technology education program in Florida closed its doors due to low enrollments and a new focus on graduate studies. This closing and the continued need for 165 certified technology education teachers to fill open positions each year in Florida created a need for St Petersburg College (SPC) to…

In this article, the authors describe how they use a strategic planning tool known as SWOT as a framework for case analysis, using it to analyze the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats of a public works project intended to enhance regional economic development in Tempe, Arizona. Students consider the project in light of a variety of…

Questionnaires covering evaluation strategies and practices were sent to directors of 200 camps accredited by the American Camping Association. Half received questionnaires designed to collect quantitative data in the form of yes/no responses and Likert scales; the other half received qualitative questionnaires covering the same information in an…

A literacy intervention is designed to produce accelerated change, moving student achievement rapidly and providing for sustained performance over time. Adopting a complex intervention is a problem-solving process that requires understanding of the conceptual congruity of all aspects of the theory, intervention, and training underlying the…

The second annual roundtable represents an on-going effort to share knowledge and information and to develop a common agenda and measure the achievement outcomes in child welfare. This roundtable's goals included: (1) reviewing and selecting appropriate outcomes for children and families in child welfare systems; (2) building understanding of a…

Effective leadership development usually requires a range of ongoing and integrated activities. This report presents a six-step model created by the Center for Creative Leadership's (CCCL) "Tools for Developing Successful Executives" program. The steps include: (1) find and use organizational support for creating a process, not an event; (2)…

Because of their comprehensive approach, Head Start programs can stimulate new linkages with a variety of service providers. This book contains both abstracts and detailed interagency agreements between Head Start program staff in the Department of Health and Human Services, and federal, state, and local programs. Interagency agreements in the…

This report complements the Mathematical Association of America's curriculum recommendations about the undergraduate program in mathematics with a case studies approach that describes effective practices in undergraduate mathematics programs. The primary focus of this case studies project is not course content, but more general issues in the…

A seminar was held on the topic of case management, how it is being used, and whether case management is the answer to providing effective family-centered integrated services. The first panelist was Marie Weil, associate dean and professor at the University of North Carolina's School of Social Work. She claimed people do not need case management…

The goal of the Offer Versus Serve (OVS) option in the Healthy School Meals Initiative is to minimize plate waste and to encourage more food choices in school meal programs. This manual was designed for child nutrition programs as a tool in helping them meet the Healthy School Meals Initiative, in particular to assist them in identifying a…

This Monthly Action Kit introduces some approaches to defining local substance abuse indicators and provides ideas on how to measure them. The kit also contains examples of what some communities are doing to measure their local progress. A few indicators worth considering are outlined with suggestions about what to measure, where to find the data,…

A study was done of how interest rate floors on certain guaranteed student loans affect the federal government's and students' costs when rates on short-term government securities decline. The study developed cost comparisons using fixed and variable loan interest rates. For comparison Department of Education projections of loan volumes for fiscal…

The Family Resource Coalition's (FRC) mission is to build support and resources within communities that strengthen and empower families, enhance the capacities of parents, and foster the optimal development of youth. FRC pursues this mission by: (1) developing a national resource center on family resource programs; (2) advocating on issues that…

This monograph presents principles and insights drawn from interviews and scholarly sources on the development of friendships between persons with disabilities and the nondisabled. Vignettes at the end of each chapter illustrate the chapter's principles. The first chapter looks at why friends are important and discusses intimacy and affection,…

Two newsletters review the principles and application of two behavior modification techniques with mentally retarded persons: overcorrection and punishment. Overcorrection may be either restitutional, in which the client is made to restore the environment to a far better state than before the inappropriate behavior occurred, or positive practice…