This report summarizes the 2005-2006 program evaluation results of AISD's federally-funded smaller learning communities grant program.

This paper will provide readers with insight into "Team Building and Decision-Making" curriculum methods and strategies utilized in leadership for our administrators. The content is based on "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable" by Lencioni (2002). The writer is working on developing a unique cascade of…

The CERCA (Civic Engagement for Education Reform in Central America) school report card (SRC) model was developed with schools in the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua in 2004 and 2005. This document summarizes the major findings, successful procedures, and implications of the experience for the region. The SRC…

Community-researcher partnerships can be powerful mechanisms to understand and effectively address health and social problems such as HIV/AIDS prevention. When the partnership is a positive, productive one, the combined expertise and energy of both parties result in a more effective program and a better evaluation of its effects. This article…

This study is a snapshot of some school districts in California that are slightly ahead of their peers, though still in the early stages of this change process. What is important about the study is, first, the optimistic finding that capacity to support schools and school improvement can be built within school districts, at least in those large…

Increasingly, foundations are choosing to engage in public policy debates as a way of leveraging their investments and increasing their impact in advancing improvements community-wide, statewide or nationally. For foundations, influencing public policy decisions can happen in different ways: funding policy research and dissemination, building…

Today’s schools are complex systems with complex problems. Addressing those problems often requires significant change efforts. However, many school administrators don’t know how to select a focus for these efforts or how to lead staff through such changes--and even if they did, the job is too large for one person. One solution to this dilemma is…

In December 2000, the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL) was awarded a five-year research and development (R&D) contract to develop and refine a systemic model to improve student achievement in reading or mathematics in low-performing districts and schools. At the onset of the project, 20 districts in Arkansas, Louisiana, New…

The Association of Urban Universities held its second conference in Cincinnati, November 15-17, 1915. The program, focusing on a consideration of training for public service, had three subdivisions: (1) the needs for cooperation between the university and the city governments in providing training for public service; (2) methods of training; and…

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA's) state GEAR UP project--Texans Getting Academically Prepared (TGAP)--has provided interconnected activities supporting early awareness of and preparation for higher education among low-income and minority students, their families, and schools in six South Texas school districts. Over its six years, the state…

Given the current emphasis on the benefits of communication and information technologies (C&IT) for sustainable rural community development, effective evaluations of C&IT initiatives are increasingly important. This paper presents outcomes of a project that aimed to build capacities of people in two Australian rural communities to evaluate…

The mission of the Nebraska Center for Research on Children, Youth, Families and Schools (CYFS) is to conduct research that improves our understanding of optimal ways that parents, teachers and other service providers in family, school and community contexts can promote the intellectual and socio-emotional development and behavioral adjustment of…

"Multicultural Education Policies in Canada and the United States" uses a dialogical approach to examine responses to increasing cultural and racial diversity in both countries. It compares and contrasts foundational myths and highlights the sociopolitical contexts that affect the conditions of citizenship, access to education, and…

In October 1999, the Texas Education Agency (TEA) received a GEAR UP state grant. TEA's project, Texans Getting Academically Prepared (TGAP), was originally a five-year grant. However, additional federal funding extended the project for a sixth year. TGAP begins at the middle-school level to prepare low-income and minority students for higher…

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA's) state GEAR UP project--Texans Getting Academically Prepared (TGAP)--has provided interconnected activities supporting early awareness of and preparation for higher education among low-income and minority students, their families, and schools in six South Texas school districts. Over its six years, the state…