This Guide is designed to support the work of institutional cross-functional teams charged with strengthening adjunct faculty professional learning and institutional engagement. Each section shares key learnings from ATD's work with six Leader Colleges, including accomplishments in the form of new programs, services, or policies that can serve as…

As community colleges across the country look for ways to promote student success, the need for scaling effective approaches is critical. This guide builds on a framework of four phases of scaling developed in Job For the Future's (JFF's) previous publication, "Thinking Big: A Framework for States on Scaling Up Community College…

"Student Success Center Toolkit" is a compilation of materials organized to assist Student Success Center directors as they staff, launch, operate, and sustain Centers. The toolkit features materials created and used by existing Centers, such as staffing and budgeting templates, launch materials, sample meeting agendas, and fundraising…

This toolkit is designed to help community schools evaluate their efforts so that they learn from their successes, identify current challenges, and plan future efforts. It provides a step-by-step process for planning and conducting an evaluation at your community school site(s). The toolkit is a practical, hands-on guide that makes it possible for…

The rationale for taking bold action on the nation's persistently failing schools can be summed up in one dramatic and disturbing statistic: half of the young Americans who drop out of high school attend just 12 percent of the nation's schools. Ending the cycle of failure at schools is a daunting challenge and a surprisingly controversial one.…

Developed by a team of strategists to help local school districts in Michigan win school millage elections, this manual details the factors that go into a successful election campaign. The campaign is broken into five phases: building a coalition, surveying and gathering information, developing a campaign theme and campaign plan, identifying and…

The Central Park Project, in Grand Rapids, Michigan, illustrates the importance of participation in the design process and the impact of school sites on children as well as on the surrounding neighborhood. (Author/MLF)

This report chronicles the work and recommendations of a coalition of educational, public, and private organizations known as the Grand Rapids Education Reform Initiative. Based on research showing that education in the public schools of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was in a state of crisis, the initiative set out to improve education throughout the…

This guide provides information and guidelines to community college personnel who are administering and coordinating programs designed to prepare paraprofessionals to work with individuals with developmental disabilities in community settings. The guide is specifically for individuals managing the "Paraprofessional Curriculum for Community…

The Program Review Extension Procedures (PREP) set forth in this manual are a flexible set of procedures and questionnaires designed for use by Michigan community colleges in evaluating non-occupational instructional areas. First, introductory material explains that PREP is not a component of, but rather a companion model to the Michigan Community…

The 12 states comprising the North Central Region have been affected in similar ways by the farm crisis of the 1980s. Statewide surveys show sizeable proportions of farm operations that are experiencing moderately high levels of financial stress. The problems caused by chronic stress on family structure and functioning, the loss of mainstreet…

This report describes the recent efforts of Michigan's Division of Services to Crippled Children (DSCC) to assist families with handicapped children to develop their full potential for health, education, and self-support through the removal of physical, social, psychological, and economic barriers. DSCC functions are carried out at the local,…

Examines the legal, administrative, and logistical barriers that have prevented the wide acceptance of coordinating community and school transportation services and why these barriers may be breaking down. Two examples of successful implementation of coordinated transportation are examined: employing a single system to serve all transportation…

Designed for use by Michigan community colleges wishing to conduct a self-study of their occupational programs, this manual provides step-by-step instructions and instrumentation for implementing the Program Review in Occupational Education (PROE) model. PROE is a component of the Michigan Community College Occupational Education Evaluation System…

This document examines the public relations activities occurring in K-12 and intermediate school districts, needs for other activities, and how Michigan School Public Relations Association (MSPRA) can assist. Written surveys were mailed to 394 K-12 and Intermediate School District (ISD) superintendents. Analysis showed that very few school…