Children and youth develop the ability to surmount difficult life challenges through a combination of external supports and internal strengths. Positive peers can contribute substantially to growth in resilient coping and problem-solving skills. Positive Peer Culture (PPC) programs are designed to strengthen supportive social bonds, competence,…

Treatment integrity (also referred to as "treatment fidelity," "intervention integrity," and "procedural reliability") is an important methodological concerning both research and practice because treatment integrity data are essential to making valid conclusions regarding treatment outcomes. Despite its relationship to validity, treatment…

There has been a recent slowdown in the decline of rates of tuberculosis (TB) in the United States. However, there are disparities in TB diagnosis between U.S.-born and foreign-born persons and between Whites and minorities. Measures for achieving TB elimination include identification of high-risk persons, including children and adolescents, at…

Background: Although models such as the coordinated school health program (CSHP) are widely available to address student health needs, school professionals have been unconvinced that scarce resources should be allocated to improving student health. Concern that attention may be diverted from meeting academic accountability goals is often seen as a…

The growing number of immigrant students in the United States continues to affect school programs. First, the author describes the issues that challenge immigrant students, including varying levels of language and academic performance, funding and school resources, and flexibility and accountability. Then, the author discuss what school leaders…

The Commonwealth of Virginia, as with other states, operates a panoply of programs whose objectives, either directly or indirectly, are to develop the state's workforce. Some programs enhance the skills of Virginians through training or formal education; whereas other programs, such as the Employment Service, attempt to facilitate the employment…

The impact of Florida's "A+" accountability program, which until 2006 included a voucher program for chronically failing schools, on public school performance has been extensively studied. The results have consistently shown a positive effect on academic outcomes in Florida public schools. However, no empirical research has been done on…

This report focuses on the initial design, implementation and baseline results of the five-year Longitudinal Educational Growth Study (LEGS) of the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) being conducted by the School Choice Demonstration Project (SCDP). The LEGS will be the first evaluation of the participant effects of the MPCP using…

This study examined the relationship between data use and achievement at 13 urban Title I schools. Using multiple methods, including test scores, district surveys, school transformation plans, and four case study site visits, the researchers found wide variation in the use of data to inform instruction and planning. In some cases, schools were …

The Smaller Learning Communities (SLC) program was established in response to growing national concerns about students too often lost and alienated in large, impersonal high schools, as well as concerns about school safety and low levels of achievement and graduation for many students. Authorized under the "Elementary and Secondary Education…

The Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) project is the most comprehensive effort thus far to ascertain which approaches help welfare recipients and other low-income people stay steadily employed and advance in their jobs. Launched in 1999 and slated to end in 2009, the ERA project encompasses more than a dozen demonstration programs and…

This paper evaluates the impact of exposure to a voucher program for disabled students in Florida on the academic performance of disabled students who remain in the public school system. The authors utilize student-level data on the universe of public school students in the state of Florida from 2000-01 through 2004-05 to study the effect of the…

The Louisiana Board of Regents is the first in the nation to publicly use a performance model based upon the achievement of students in grades 4-9 as one of several measures to examine the effectiveness of teacher preparation programs. The State has supported the development and implementation of a Value Added Teacher Preparation Assessment Model…

This paper reports results of a survey that studied the outcomes of a mentorship program. Students enrolled in a core course for the MA and certificate in gerontology programs were required to select either a long-term care service, a program in aging, or an agency providing services for senior adults, where they could spend a day interacting with…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to show that the "Back on Track" program is designed to support students with a chronic illness (usually cancer) to maintain contact with their school and peers whilst undergoing treatment, to promote socio-emotional wellbeing and to facilitate the ease of return to school when they are well. An…