When the Tobin Bridge was built in 1950, splitting Chelsea in half and leveling homes in its wake, middle-class families began leaving for greener pastures. The "Iron Monster" became a symbol of the city's decline. By the 1980s, Chelsea was grappling with a familiar litany of urban ills. Only half its students were graduating from high…

Because schools, communities, and families play interconnected roles in the crucial mission of educating children, they must find ways to work together as educational partners. Providing parents with information and resources to support their children's education is a cornerstone of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). This sourcebook is based on…

Teacher retention is a critical problem in public education (Ingersoll, 2002), demanding collaboration between universities and local public school systems. Using veteran teacher mentors employed in a public school system to facilitate ongoing monthly support groups, communities of beginning teachers were formed, embedded within the public schools…

Michigan is no stranger to the effects of competition. The auto industry was forced to adjust to an onslaught of foreign competition in the 70s and 80s. Now, Michigan's public schools face their own competition in the form of public charter schools. Since 1993, when Michigan became one of the first states in the nation to enact charter…

This paper explains that today's teacher preparation programs must meet the needs of tomorrow's teachers. They must be practical, experiential, and effective, and must produce educators who practice personal reflection, ongoing professional development, and lifelong learning. The Professional Development School (PDS) model addresses these needs.…

This paper describes a unique collaboration between the College of Education (COE) and the Center for Academic Enrichment and Outreach (CAEO) at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Here we describe our efforts to improve student science performance in traditionally underachieving urban middle schools by embracing our state's highly qualified…

The Business Roundtable prepared this paper to: (1) help policymakers and the public better understand the facts about the United States' role in the worldwide economy; (2) offer context and perspective on employment trends; and (3) recommend a package of policies that will stimulate economic growth, foster innovation, create jobs and help workers…

The Coordinating Board for Higher Education and the Department of Higher Education are pleased to present this Annual Report of accomplishments, benchmarks and statistics related to Missouri higher learning for fiscal year 2008. Chief among this year's accomplishments is the coordinated plan, "Imperatives for Change: Building a Higher…

This article addresses how teacher preparation programs can best respond to the broad, complex calls for reform in ways that are locally meaningful and honor academic integrity, but that are also true to the intent of the reform mandates. The authors begin with an overview of some of the federal and state initiatives that are presenting challenges…

Imagine a scenario in which an individual gets up every day and goes to work in fear--in fear of performing the difficult tasks at work--in fear of the colleagues who perform better. The individual is in fear of the boss who is omnipotent, larger than life and constantly judging, evaluating, and sentencing employees to a lifetime of failure. The…

One of the most important provisions of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) is the requirement that all teachers of core academic subjects be "highly qualified" by the end of school year 2005-2006. Key principles for recruiting and preparing future teachers have been identified as raising academic standards for teachers and lowering…