This essay presents infrastructuring as a useful construct for guiding efforts to support more equitable implementation and sustainability of resources developed to support student learning in design-based research. "Infrastructuring" refers to activities that aim to redesign components, relations, and routines of schools and districts…

With many cities showing an interest in afterschool system building and research providing a growing body of useful information, this Wallace Perspective offers a digest of the latest thinking on how to build and sustain an afterschool system, and the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for this promising work. The report (a follow-up to a…

Rubric assessment of information literacy is an important tool for librarians seeking to show evidence of student learning. The authors, who collaborated on the Rubric Assessment of Informational Literacy Skills (RAILS) research project, draw from their shared experience to present practical recommendations for implementing rubric assessment in a…

Marilyn Johnston-Parsons writes about collaboration. She describes several university-school collaborations with which she has been involved in terms of the tensions and the dialogue that has been associated with them. While she worries about the state of collaboration in this educational age, she admits to "cautious optimism" that more…

Recent state policies demand universities restructure principal preparation programs. Mandates, though unfunded, provide an opportunity for universities to engage representative stakeholders who benefit from context specific instruction. This article demonstrates how professors in one research university used collected programmatic information and…

"Voices from the Field: Collaborative Innovations in Early Childhood Educator Preparation" is jointly published by the Illinois Education Research Council (IERC) and the Illinois Board of Education (IBHE), and highlights the accomplished work of many of the state's two- and four-year faculty to redesign early childhood educator…

Much attention during the past decade has been given to the need to develop a well-trained early childhood education workforce. In order to address this need, the Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) awarded Early Childhood Educator Preparation Program Innovation (EPPI) grants to institutions of higher learning. The IBHE funded partnerships,…

The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) provided Early Childhood Educator Preparation Program Innovation (EPPI) grants to 20 partnerships comprised of two- and four-year institutions to further develop models for early childhood educator preparation and build capacity in key areas of need. Recipients used grant funds to design and implement…

The Illinois Board of Higher Education (IBHE) provided Early Childhood Educator Preparation Program Innovation (EPPI) grants to 20 partnerships comprised of two- and four-year institutions to further develop models for early childhood educator preparation and build capacity in key areas of need. Recipients used grant funds to design and implement…

Cooperative behaviors among private investors, local entities and a county can create significant efficiencies and resources to achieve a countywide vision. A county willing to take on this leadership role can provide technology and creates incentives for cooperation, supports opportunistic action, and regulates a balance between private sector…

Communities face powerful challenges that require powerful solutions: a high-school dropout epidemic, youth unemployment, teen pregnancy. In an era of limited resources, those solutions must help communities to achieve more with less. A new kind of community collaborative--an approach that aspires to significant community-wide progress by…

This article describes how Southern Illinois University-Carbondale (SIUC) partnered with twelve rural schools with high percentages of students in poverty. SIUC provided faculty development activities featuring the adoption of Cognitively Guided Instruction, combined with activities to increase math content and to reduce math anxiety for groups of…

Since its inception in 1972, the Higher Education Cooperation Act (HECA) is proving to be an effective agent for improving Illinois higher education, and at a nominal cost. Various HECA projects aimed at encouraging international cooperation and increasing access to higher education have involved in some way nearly every public and private college…

These proceedings consist of papers presented at a conference devoted to educational resource sharing. Included in the volume are the following papers: "Educational Resource Sharing: The Challenge for Illinois" by Lewis D. Patterson; "Resource Sharing: The Test Is Yet to Come," by John W. Huther; "A Response to the…

High-quality out-of-school-time (OST) programs have a positive effect on youth development, but many cities have found it difficult to address the challenges of expanding and improving the quality of programs offered to underserved and high-need students. In response, The Wallace Foundation sponsored an initiative to help five cities increase…