The article is meant to assess the ways in which the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) and its Great Cities Commitment can serve as a model of academic institutional change that anchors or is, otherwise, foundational to academic institutional achievement and urban development. Through both normative discussion and case study, the article…

The Big Read evaluation included a series of 35 case studies designed to gather more in-depth information on the program's implementation and impact. The case studies gave readers a valuable first-hand look at The Big Read in context. Both formal and informal interviews, focus groups, attendance at a wide range of events--all showed how…

This article describes the University of Consortium for Catholic Education (UCCE) as an example of collaboration between Catholic colleges, universities, schools, and other stakeholders. The UCCE supports a collaborative cadre of primarily Catholic colleges and universities as they design and implement graduate-level teaching service programs for…

The author has been a theater artist in Chicago and Elgin public schools for over 10 years, and for the last four she has been leading professional development workshops for teaching artists and classroom teachers both in the United States and abroad. Teachers all over the world have asked her the same questions: "How do you get new teachers…

This report examines the results of the field test for the base year of the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09). The general purposes of the field test were, in anticipation of the base-year full-scale effort, to test instruments, forms, and procedures; to experiment with different approaches to questionnaire content and survey…

The Foundations of Inquiry (FOI) course at Illinois State University was a required freshmen course designed to prepare incoming students for the requirements of their various academic programs. One of the course's goals was for students to receive instruction in information literacy (IL) skills and become accustomed to locating and retrieving…

Over the past two decades, community organizing has emerged as an effective force for school improvement. In the context of shrinking education funding, stubborn opportunity and achievement gaps between low-income and wealthy children and between children of color and White children, and polarizing debate on school reform, community organizing…

Tough times are encouraging colleges to share resources in a variety of areas, including campus security, research, and degree programs. Despite its veneer of cooperation, higher education is a competitive industry, where resource sharing is eyed warily. But the recession is chipping away at that reluctance, and institutions are pursuing…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

This article describes the specific methods of a regional partnership that has lasted more than twenty-five years. Southern Illinois University Edwardsville has partnered with public and private schools in the southwestern portion of Illinois, and in metro St. Louis, in the Hands-On Science project, which provides instruction development for…

This article looks at how professional learning communities (PLCs) have become an operational approach for professional development with potential to de-isolate the teaching experience in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). The authors offer a short synopsis of the intellectual origins of PLCs, provide multiple…

Mentorship is essential to teaching artists seriously committed to "learning to love this work more." For new(er) teaching artists, with little or no experience as teachers, the New Teaching Artist Mentorship Initiative is designed to inspire a life-long love affair with teaching and learning. This article describes the New Teaching…

Head Start, a U.S. federally funded program, prepares children for school through early childhood intervention in social-emotional and cognitive arenas. This article describes program evaluation survey results from the past 5 years of an 18-year collaboration between a university graduate art therapy program and 8 Head Start centers. Graduate art…

In the past decade, economic development experts have moved away from traditional approaches to economic development that have relied upon recruiting or attracting large businesses with offers of tax breaks, financial incentives, and other subsidies. Increasingly, communities are focusing their economic development resources on supporting the…

In 2007, the Illinois General Assembly passed Public Act 0950694, "The College and Career Readiness Pilot Act", in an effort to reduce remediation within Illinois' community colleges. An important objective of this legislation was to better prepare students to be successful in transitioning from high school to college. According to the…