At least 10% of students in private Christian schools are considered students with special needs. Private Christian schools vary in the degree to which they educate these students and in the approaches that they take toward educating them. This study examines whether or not private Christian Schools are allowing students with special needs access…

With the advent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act, virtually every school in America is expected to meet high academic standards in the face of declining resources. The requirements to meet these standards are rising as funding decreases, and little help is available to schools. "Strength-Based Teaching" is intended to fill that…

The No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 introduced new requirements for paraprofessionals, specifying criteria for them to achieve "highly qualified" status. This article describes a study which explored the perceptions of teachers and paraprofessional teams as to whether the paraprofessionals would be considered "highly…

Module I provides paraeducators an opportunity to increase what they know about professional ethics and the appropriate roles and responsibilities of paraeducators. The module has been designed to address two goals: to develop an understanding of paraeducator professional and ethical standards; to develop a basic understanding of paraeducator…

The NO VACANCY sign has been hanging out at the Columbia-Montour Area Vocational-Technical School (CMAVTS) for the past several years. A variety of reasons may have contributed to the building being at full capacity. A new administrative director, Steve Walk, was hired in 1999 to change the image of the school. Since his arrival, High Schools That…

Since 1990, Vermont legislation has required all schools to establish an Educational Support System (ESS) that provides a comprehensive set of supports and services designed to meet the needs of students with disabilities as well as those at risk of school failure. Given the need to promote the success of an increasingly heterogeneous group of…

This article describes the step-by-step process Ross Elementary in Topeka, Kan., used to achieve Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) in accordance with the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A simple process of using teamwork, setting specific measurable goals, and frequent monitoring of student progress toward these goals allowed Ross to significantly…

This article discusses Mississippi's use of a reform model that helped dozens of schools that had failed to induce academic progress under the No Child Left Behind Act. In a forgotten corner of Mississippi's state capital, test scores are going up at a middle school for struggling students. The progress of students at risk of dropping out at the…

The statewide implementation of instructional support teams (ISTs) in Pennsylvania is analyzed in terms of the challenge of bringing team-based problem-solving models to scale. The history of the phase-in of ISTs in more than 1,700 elementary schools is presented, and the salient research conducted on ISTs is reviewed. The results indicate that…

State accountability systems that are based on test data and the No Child Left Behind Act have put educators under great pressure to improve their students' scores on standardized tests. Much has been written about the possibility that school faculties will resort to "drill and kill," a response that will reduce the quality of children's…

Transition planning to assist students with severe disabilities to move from school to a positive adult future is of great concern for the young people and their families and friends. For more than a decade, the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP) within the U.S. Department of Education has researched quality of life issues in transition…

This guide will assist paraprofessionals in selecting state and national resources for training. The compilations are contributions from representatives of: (1) Local Administrators of Special Education; (2) Missouri Association of Paraprofessionals in Education; and (3) Special Education Effective Practices in the Missouri Department of …

This brief paper examines issues in service delivery and collaborative partnerships in light of requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act Amendments of 1997 and the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, both of which emphasize the importance of providing access to the general curriculum for students with disabilities and…

In spite of various opinions about the requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) and of the newly reauthorized Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA) and the difficulties with implementing these federal laws, people are beginning to see positive outcomes and improvement in the academic performance of students with…

The primary goal of the American Federation of Teachers' (AFT) Redesigning Schools to Raise Achievement (RSRA) project is to build capacity at the state, district, school, and classroom levels to improve student achievement to meet the goals of the 2001 No Child Left Behind Act. This checklist highlights some of the opportunities and support…