To stem the tide of students dropping out, many schools and districts are turning to early warning systems (EWS) that signal whether a student is at risk of not graduating from high school. While some research exists about establishing these systems, there is little information about the actual implementation strategies that are being used across…

A study of rural community colleges in Minnesota and Michigan was conducted to determine to what extent the colleges were fulfilling their stated purposes, whether Minnesota's centralized state community college system is as responsive to community needs as Michigan's decentralized system, and the major criteria identified by community college…

This book describes the process and results of a 5 year arts initiative, Artists in Minnesota Schools and Communities (AMSC). Based on the premise that rural communities hold an undervalued wealth of artistic and cultural resources rarely tapped by schools, the project piloted a variety of models for integrating art in the educational experiences…

Factors that influence the perceptions held by school site council members and others about the quality of site-based management (SBM) are examined in this study. Specifically, the relationships among a group's assessment of SBM, perceived level of influence on council decision making, perceived level of support from other groups, and perceived…

Profiles a program developed between the schools and community of Anoka, Minnesota. Concerned about the increase in poverty, crime, and youth problems, the community involved the students in an assessment of the town's problems and created a series of service learning projects addressing those problems. (MJP)

This publication defines "service learning" as an instructional strategy in which students are involved in experiential education in real-life settings and where they apply academic knowledge and previous experience to meet real community needs. The publication is intended for persons who are interested in enriching learning through…

This report presents recommendations that address needed changes and improvements in state policies, administrative practices, and school and community service programs, in relation to school-to-adult-life transition of young people with disabilities in Minnesota. Recommendations were derived from two sources: (1) reviews of state plans and…

This paper discusses the problems faced by Minnesota's Supporting Diversity in Schools organization in communicating their goal of making schools responsive to students of differing ethnic backgrounds. It was found that using terms such as "multicultural curriculum" and "isolation of schools and communities of color from one…

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…

A symposium on community-based supported employment for developmentally disabled adults in Minnesota was attended by agency direct service staff who provide job training, executive directors and administrators of agencies, and personnel who refer clients to agencies providing supported work and other types of community-based training and…

Describes the process used to evaluate the writing across the curriculum (WAC) program in the Minnesota Community College System, focusing on evaluation components (i.e., workshop surveys, faculty and student surveys, faculty interviews, student compositions, and subject experiments). Considers programmatic and evaluation coordination. Reviews…

This publication for Pennsylvania educators outlines five homelessness curricula found in schools in Florida, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania, which aim to sensitize students to the realities of homelessness. The report points out that although the curricula differ in many ways, each covers the following key topics: (1) the causes and…

This booklet is a collection of stories by people who have facilitated Personal Futures Planning groups. The groups provide an individualized, structured approach to life planning for people with developmental or other disabilities and have been implemented since 1988 in Minnesota. Introductory material describes the process, which starts when a…

This handbook is the fruit of two projects of the University of Minnesota's College of Education: (1) the Dowling Friendship Program, a 3-year project at a public elementary school in Minneapolis in which children with and without disabilities participated in a variety of recreation activities during school, after school, at each other's homes,…

Provided in this report are data on school-age child care in Virginia and Minnesota for the 1981-82 school year. Minnesota and Virginia were selected for study because of the prevalence of programs for school-age children, the rural/suburban/urban contrasts that could be made, the female labor force participation rates, and the adequate numbers…