This publication contains 19 one- or two-page profiles of Illinois teachers, educational administrators, and business people who have contributed greatly to the success of their vocational education students. The profiles are written in the third person but many contain first-person accounts, along with testimony about the subjects by employers,…

The Illinois State Board of Education's Advisory Policy on Evaluation and Assessment encourages districts to develop and implement total student assessment and program evaluation policies. The Board suggests that these policies include provisions for (1) a process for curriculum review; (2) a range of local standards for achievement in…

Begun successfully in 1963 as part of the larger Illinois Plan for the Education of Gifted Children, the demonstration center in "Anytown", a small northwestern Illinois community, was phased out after four years of operation. New curricula for grades 7-12 were developed at the University of Illinois for the Anytown and other similar…

Thirteen brief papers address issues in inclusive education, with special emphasis on concerns and applications in Illinois. The following issues are discussed: (1) the relationship of the inclusive schools concept to that of providing a continuum of alternative placement options; (2) needed changes in current funding of special education to…

The Special Needs Assessment Program (SNAP) is designed to help teachers, parents, and children focus attention on individual pupils as human beings who need help in handling a variety of problems. The project's main intents are to help faculty in identifying critical needs and concerns of pupils and to encourage the building of instructional…

Personalized learning: Everyone knows it needs to happen, but how? It is one thing to believe in the importance of high school reform. It is quite another to embrace a system that helps every student leave high school with a diploma and plans for postsecondary education or training that lead to productive and self-sufficient adulthoods. This…

This paper provides answers to commonly asked questions concerning the inclusion of children with disabilities in general education with special attention to inclusion in Illinois. Questions and answers are organized into the following sections: definitions; cost and finance; policy; roles and responsibilities; delivery of services; staff…

Four articles on changing governance patterns of state colleges and universities are presented. In "State Control vs. Campus Autonomy: A Struggle for Balance," Donald E. Walters discusses the distribution of power in Illinois'"system of systems" governance structure. In Illinois several multi-campus university systems coexist;…

This document contains an evaluation checklist developed to assess home economic programs in Illinois in order to determine if they are conducive to meeting the needs of students enrolled in the programs. The quality indicators in this booklet were derived from the "Standards for Vocational Home Economics Education" published by the U.S.…

The profession of educational leadership in the 21st century is changing. School leaders, educational administration faculty, and policymakers are endeavoring to redefine the profession in an era of ferment, during which the legitimacy of its knowledge base and the appropriateness of programs for preparing school leaders have been thrown into…

School-family partnerships (SFPs) have been the focus of research, policy, and practice efforts for several years. Increasing the interest in SFPs has been the finding that when schools and families cooperate closely, children benefit. The more supportive links there are between settings, the more potential there is for healthy development. Such…