The start of kindergarten signifies the beginning of elementary school and everything that may come with it: a new building, new teachers, new expectations, and a different routine and culture. These new students transition into kindergarten from different settings, bringing with them a variety of assets and experiences. From a holistic…

The past four decades have seen a rapid decline in marriage rates and a rapid increase in nonmarital births. These changes have had at least three worrisome effects on children. Scholars disagree about the magnitude of these effects, but surveys and other research evidence appear to definitively establish that the nation has more poverty, more…

This report describes the use of Lead Turnaround Partners (LTPs) in the current School Improvement Grant (SIG) program and provides the results of document review, surveys, and interviews with eight State Education Agencies and seven Lead Turnaround Partner organizations. The study focuses on the implementation of the transformation and turnaround…

Many low-performing schools across the nation have increased learning time in response to federal requirements for the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. The conditions governing federal waivers of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) also require certain schools to redesign the school day, week, or year to include additional…

At least 5,000 public schools have failed to meet their academic achievement targets for at least five consecutive years. The underlying causes of such failure are usually a combination of weak leadership, inadequate skill levels among teachers, and insufficient high-quality teaching materials. In 2009, the National Governors Association Center…

This edition of "Bright Futures" highlights 12 states (Alabama, Colorado, Nevada, Iowa, Maryland, Ohio, West Virginia, Connecticut, Guam, Maine, Pennsylvania and Kansas) that have received grants to support the development of an Early Childhood Advisory Council. Other features of this edition include announcements of state early…

Since 2007, "Forward Thinking" has provided the roadmap for the department's work. These goals have served the department well in aligning and focusing the work at hand. The goals are: (1) Provide guidance and support to meet school and district needs; (2) Enhance professional development involving best practices; (3) Develop tools to…

The "Colorado Children's Budget" presents and analyzes investments and spending trends during the past five state fiscal years on services that benefit children. The "Children's Budget" focuses mainly on state investment and spending, with some analysis of federal investments and spending to provide broader context of state…

Access to information technology is rapidly becoming the benchmark by which quality in higher education is judged. The use of information technology for both on-campus instruction and distance learning is nowhere near reaching its full potential in Colorado. This report provides a statewide vision for the incorporation of information technology…

The Colorado State Library and Adult Education Office describe the activities and accomplishments of various library programs and services throughout the state in 1988. One-page profiles highlight each program and list contact persons and telephone numbers. Some of the profiles are accompanied by a brief feature story that takes a closer look at…

This tool is part of a series of technical assistance resources on financing and sustaining out-of-school time and community school initiative. These tools and resources are intended to assist policymakers, program developers and community leaders in developing financing and sustainability strategies to support effective initiatives. For nearly a…