This paper describes the Rural Teaching Effectiveness Network, created to overcome difficulties associated with offering staff development experiences in rural Maryland. The long distances often required to attend staff development activities can discourage rural teachers' commitment. Similar problems exist in creating standards of professional…

The origins, development, and results of a summer institute for middle school foreign language teachers held at the University of Arkansas during summer 1983, and re-funded and extended for the next 2 years, are described. The project originated from several needs in middle school foreign language instruction: the challenges in teaching to the…

Focusing on federal efforts to fight illiteracy through the Library Services and Construction Act (LSCA), Title I, this report describes some of the literacy projects that have been supported by LSCA funds, examines current literacy trends, and discusses some ideas for the future. The definition of literacy is considered, public libraries are…

This document reports the oral and written testimony of witnesses at a Congressional hearing held to examine H.R. 3266, the Workforce 2000 Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) Amendments of 1989. The bill is aimed at reforming JTPA targeting and training efforts. It focuses on critical support services and targeting issues and includes provisions…

The Indiana Department of Education recently convened a task force to identify universal basic values and to determine how these values can be successfully infused into school curricula. Accordingly, in collaboration with the Indiana School Counselors Association (ISCA), the Department established a working committee to construct a developmentally…

The paper describes a state (Arkansas) planning process for delivering appropriate technology support services to citizens with disabilities as implemented in the TAARK (Technology Access for Arkansans) Project and the ARTAP (Arkansas Technology Access Program). The model focuses on active consumer involvement and a comprehensive service delivery…

This booklet contains 13 one-page vignettes describing the experiences of persons who have successfully completed Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) programs and gone on to success in various fields or in further education. Many of the persons profiled are members of minority groups, high school dropouts, dislocated workers, disabled persons,…

This study assesses progress made by the states, as of 1990, in the implementation of the 14 components of Part H of Public Law 99-457, the Education of the Handicapped Act Amendments, 1986. Fifty out of 51 jurisdictions completed the State Progress Scale, which contains items for each of the 14 components and determines the stages of policy…

This first volume of a four-volume evaluation of the 1988-89 New York City School Community Education Program (also known as the Umbrella Program) comprises reports evaluating 10 innovative projects that provide reading, mathematics, writing, English as a Second Language, and computer literacy instruction. Evaluation sources included student…

This report reviews a variety of approaches for working with homeless students. Information was gathered from state Coordinators of Education for Homeless Children and Youth, regional coordinators of homeless programs, and national and local organizations. The programs described are organized into five categories. The first concerns educating…

California's Partnership Academies, which are conducted under the sponsorship of the state and aimed at dropout prevention for at-risk high school students, combine a modified curriculum and structure with the following elements: (1) a student selection process designed to enroll students with potential, but whose past performance places them at…

This guide is intended to assist states and service delivery areas (SDAs) in addressing the new oversight responsibilities and opportunities stipulated by the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) with respect to process evaluation. The first chapter provides an overview of the JTPA organizational system. Discussed next is the relationship among…

This report contains two sections: a summary of a conference on state literacy initiatives including the agenda and list of participants, and a series of profiles of the literacy efforts of individual states. The four issues identified and discussed at the meeting were (1) development of state initiatives; (2) coordination and expansion of state…

This glossary defines terms commonly used in second language education, including the subfields of foreign language education, bilingual education, and English as a second language. Its purpose is to minimize confusion about the use of the terms. The terms include: language/linguistic majority student; language/linguistic minority student; limited…

Several independent analyses of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) indicate that it has achieved mixed results and has failed to effectively serve disadvantaged youth and school dropouts. It can only offer short-term, low-cost programs, and has difficulty in attracting youths. The number of dropouts being served is declining. The…