This paper discusses how the formation of coalitions and partnerships in Illinois has helped to impact public policy, sharing recommendations for forming coalitions that will help ensure educational excellence and equity in the 21st century through a shared decision-making process. After discussing the importance of forming coalitions, the paper…

In 1991, the Illinois Board of Higher Education, working with Illinois colleges and universities, began an initiative to improve productivity, enhance quality, and refine priorities for higher education in Illinois. This initiative, commonly known as PQP, has focused to date on instructional research, public service, and administrative programs…

This report of an advisory panel to the Chicago Board of Education deals with desegregation of the public schools, and offers a plan "by which any educational, psychological, and emotional problems or inequities in the school system" can be removed. The introduction deals with historical and legal background and the problem of…

This comprehensive reference document incorporates the 1997 Master Plan Policies updated and amended with policies adopted by the Illinois Board of Higher Education since the 1997 edition. As a compilation, it includes relevant sections of the comprehensive master plans of the 1960s and 1970s and issue-related policies developed in the 1980s and…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

This report is one of nine detailed case studies of small urban high schools that served as the foundation for the Education Resource Strategies (ERS) report "Strategic Designs: Lessons from Leading Edge Small Urban High Schools." These nine schools were dubbed "Leading Edge Schools" because they stand apart from other high…

This document presents recommendations of the Illinois Committee to Study Underserved Areas concerning areas of the state in need of additional educational services. The document urges the Illinois' Board of Higher Education to adopt the Committee's recommendations as the Board's official policy. In summary, the Committee proposes the…

This report, presented in three parts, deals with the adequacy of the vocational education system in Illinois and the effectiveness of the state's initiatives. The first part of the report addresses the adequacy of the Illinois system in meeting the purpose of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational Education Act of 1984. The system's adequacy is reviewed…

Articles from a conference on nontraditional education and state-level issues are presented. The first article by Frederic Jacobs and George B. Weathersby summarizes some of the major trends and policy issues regarding nontraditional education. Next Samuel B. Gould considers why states should support nontraditional education and what strategies…

This study looks at the distribution of all 140,000 teachers in 2002-2003 among Illinois' public schools using five teacher attributes that have been shown in previous research to be related to student performance and for which they were able to obtain data--college competitiveness, years of experience, type of credential, performance on the Basic…

Presents the Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood as a model community effort to meet the challenge of childrearing. Reviews some of the initiatives, activities, and problems faced by the alliance. Describes the characteristics of this Illinois community and its long history of interest and excellence in education, and encourages other…

Most Americans view small towns and rural areas as ideal places to grow up and raise a family, yet 1990 census data reveal that most rural areas are losing population, particularly the young. Teenagers who live in rural communities are likely to have important insights into this contradiction. Approximately 5,600 students attending 114 rural high…

Discussed in this report is the MacArthur/Spencer Special Project on Educational Finance conducted on the campuses of the Illinois State University. This 5-year research effort is designed to conduct research into equity, adequacy, and efficiency aspects of educational finance in Illinois. When possible, conclusions and generalizations are…

Conclusions reached by the Illinois State Board of Education Study, released in May 1985, that small schools are inferior and inefficient, that Illinois has too many schools, and that over half its schools should be closed seem to be an educational step backward. Without linking the two concepts, the study implies that school consolidation will…

Family community aides were used in disadvantaged East Saint Louis, Illinois, schools in an effort to bridge the communication gap between the school and the home. The indigenous nonprofessional aides received 16 weeks of training to perform auxiliary noninstructional service and to act as liaison personnel between school and community. These…