The objectives of the audit were to determine whether the Kentucky Department of Education (Kentucky) had an adequate oversight process in place to ensure that (1) local educational agencies' (LEA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) plans met applicable requirements and (2) LEAs use ARP ESSER funds…

This report analyzes how students were served by Benefits Access for College Completion (BACC), a 2.5-year initiative designed to increase access to public benefits (such as SNAP or Medicaid) for eligible low-income students. These crucial supports reduce students' unmet financial needs and help them finish school. Launched in 2011, BACC funded…

California's alternative education options for youth vulnerable to dropping out of school have been established at different historical points and for different student age and target populations. For purposes of this brief, "alternative school" is defined as belonging to one of six legislatively authorized types of public (non-charter)…

The Common Core State Standards, adopted by 45 states and the District of Columbia, raise the bar for what students need to learn at each stage of their K-12 education. The goal is to better prepare students for college and careers. The most important thing that education leaders can do to help the Common Core succeed is to support teachers in…

Since Congress enacted the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 1965, the federal government has emphasized states' shared responsibility for improving student achievement. When Congress reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act in 2001 as the No Child Left Behind Act, it called upon states to provide technical support to…

The purpose of this investigation was to evaluate technical assistance and training of Head Start teachers and assistant teachers on the use of a contemporary curriculum-based assessment. A description of the technical assistance process used and the procedures for determining interrater agreement and assessment fidelity are presented. During the…

Geographical, economic, social and cultural barriers to accessing services in rural areas are widely reported. Less widely discussed are dilemmas posed by individual and community reluctance to address sensitive health issues. This article, focusing on the highly sensitive area of mental health, and employing a participatory action approach,…

This article examines the Kentucky Initiative for Social Skill and Emotional Development which provides annual training and technical assistance to build early childhood programs' capacity to deliver practices known to promote social and emotional competency. The initiative is based on the 3-tiered Positive Behavior Support model that teaches…

Oregon educators, policymakers, and business people are working together to increase the number and quality of Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs in secondary and postsecondary institutions. CTE is an integral component of Oregon's education and workforce development system and prepares students for careers in areas ranging from the…

Since early 1998, AEL, Inc., has been assisting state departments of education in Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia in the implementation of the federally funded Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) program. As part of this assistance, AEL established two types of electronic networks to link school staff at CSRD sites,…

An evaluation study examined the effectiveness of the training and technical assistance provided, amount and type of assistance provided, and results and benefits of a project to provide community education training and technical assistance in Kentucky. Result evaluation data were obtained from community education practitioners by a questionnaire.…

This final report describes activities and accomplishments of Project STEPS (Sequenced Transition to Education in the Public Schools), a 3-year outreach project designed to provide training and technical assistance (TA) related to the development of statewide transition systems for children with disabilities, birth through 5 years of age, and…

This final report describes activities of the 3-year Project Lexington Multidisciplinary Training Program for Child Care Personnel at the University of Kentucky. The project goal was to train child care personnel in skills needed to facilitate the integration of children with disabilities into generic child care settings. The project worked with…