The "Assistive Technology Act of 1998," as amended by Public Law 108-364 ("AT Act of 1998," as amended; "AT Act"; Act) requires that the secretary of education submit to Congress a report on the activities funded under that Act. Specifically, the secretary of education is required to annually provide to Congress: (1)…

Despite the national proliferation of technical assistance as a driver for school reform and as a model for embedded and sustained professional development, very little is known about the organizational structures and processes needed to support technical assistance. The purpose of this paper is to describe a structured needs assessment process…

The National School Climate Center (NSCC) completed a 50-state policy scan on state school climate and anti-bullying policies to better understand the current state policy infrastructure supporting the development of positive school climates. This policy brief examines the current status of school climate and anti-bullying policies in each state,…

Based on a review of state documents and interviews with state and local officials in six Midwest Region states, this qualitative study describes state education agency policy development and planning for response to intervention approaches to instruction. It also looks at the support provided to districts and schools implementing response to…

Based on a review of state documents and interviews with state and local officials in six Midwest Region states, this qualitative study describes state education agency policy development and planning for response to intervention approaches to instruction. It also looks at the support provided to districts and schools implementing response to …

This study examined how one state approached the integration of policy and practice by forming communities of practice (CoP), defined as groups of people who share a set of problems and interact regularly to solve them (Wenger, McDermott, & Snyder, 2002). Policymakers have created strategies known as technical assistance (TA) to bridge the…

During the past year, the state of Michigan has made noteworthy changes in the accountability system used for NCLB. Partly as a result of these changes, the number of schools identified for restructuring has changed since the previous year. In addition, the state has continued providing various types of assistance to schools in restructuring. This…

This report presents the deliberations of the Midwest Regional Advisory Committee (MW RAC), one of 10 RACs established under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. sections 9601 et. seq.) to assess the educational needs of the region. The committee's report outlines the educational needs across the seven states of Illinois,…

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…

Groups from two Michigan-based science education projects, funded through the Kellogg Foundation Science Education Initiative, used networking conferences with cluster evaluation processes for their program assessment format. Cluster evaluation is categorized as a type of naturalistic evaluation, and it includes negotiated common cluster outcomes,…

The relationship between the Flint (Michigan) Board of Education and the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation began in 1935 with a $6,000 grant. The relationship between the two organizations has made Flint the national laboratory for community education programs. Through the years, the Flint community schools have requested and received Mott…

This bulletin addresses the issue of improving interagency cooperation between the school and the court for the purpose of coordinating their efforts to reduce violence and vandalism within the school and the community. The experiences of Berrien County (Michigan) are used to illustrate the process of assessing, formalizing, and maintaining…

With the creation of the Institute for Youth, Education, and Families (YEF Institute) in 2000, the National League of Cities (NLC) strengthened its capacity to assist municipal officials in their efforts to improve the quality of public education and develop programs and initiatives that help ensure the successful development of youth. As part of…

The National Survey of Student Engagement (NSSE) documents dimensions of quality in undergraduate education and provides information and assistance to colleges, universities, and other organizations to improve student learning. Its primary activity is annually surveying college students to assess the extent to which they engage in educational…

State and local program efforts for delivering coordinated services in adult education were investigated. This report presents findings from phase 2 of a two-phase study of federal funding sources and services for adult education. Site visits were made to five states during 1989-1991 to examine the coordination activities that were carried out…