The Association Supporting Computer Users in Education (ASCUE) is a group of people interested in small college computing issues. It is a blend of people from all over the country who use computers in their teaching, academic support, and administrative support functions. ASCUE has a strong tradition of bringing its members together to pool their…

In fourth grade, North Carolina students are required to write their own personal narratives. The teachers felt that telling a story would be a great stepping stone toward writing one. Rather than focusing on grammar and the mechanics of writing, students could focus on story development and creativity. In this article, the author describes how…

This newsletter of best practices in implementing the High Schools That Work (HSTW), Making Middle Grades Work (MMGW) and Technology Centers That Work (TCTW) school improvement models is based on presentations at the 27th Annual HSTW Staff Development Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina, in the summer of 2013. The newsletter is divided up into…

The purpose of the research presented here is to identify which factors school level practitioners consider in deciding whether to retain or promote a student and to ascertain their knowledge of and training in retention research. This research illuminates the process of determining which students are promoted and which are retained, and the…

Objective. The purpose of this study was to examine differences between traditional student assistance teams and an innovative consultation-based assistance team in terms of the risk ratios for minority students for evaluation and eligibility for special education services. It was hypothesized that the innovative consultation-based assistance team…

Dr. Stephen R. Pickard is currently serving as an adjunct professor at Gardner-Webb University located in Boiling Springs North Carolina. He is a retired educator having served 21 years as a classroom teacher at both the middle and elementary levels. In addition to his service as a classroom teacher, Dr. Pickard served as a public school…

Sponsored by NASA and the JASON Education Foundation, the remote Sensing Earth Science Teacher Education Program (RSESTeP) trains teachers to use state-of-the art remote-sensing technology with the idea that participants bring back what they learn and incorporate it into Earth science lessons using technology. The author's participation in the…

A growing body of research demonstrates that the nature of the relationship between parents and professionals and parents' judgements of their feelings of empowerment are closely linked. This article focuses on one component of this relationship--partnerships--and reports on the association between parent-professional partnership and both parent…

Former middle-school principal's graduation speech to fifth graders and their parents focuses on three areas: students and psychological and physiological changes they will experience; what to expect in middle school (teamwork and advisee-group activities); and secrets for success and happiness. Students and parents are advised to concentrate on…

Project TIES (Technology Integration Enhancing Science), a four-year K-8 Technology Literacy Challenge project, combined technology as a tool for teaching and learning with earth and environmental science education. This project provided teachers in two North Carolina school systems with professional development as well as technology equipment and…

A quiet revolution is underway in six North Carolina schools involved in Project Design--an innovative school restructuring process that is developmental, reasonable, professional, and educationally relevant. The voluntary program features multiple changes in the distribution of time, work responsibilities, decision authority, status, students,…

In education, there is no one best way to do anything. There are compelling reasons why some courses should be taught in longer segments of time, which the block schedule provides. There are also compelling reasons why some classes should be taught in shorter segments. At Watauga High School in Boone, North Carolina, an alternative schedule that…

In North Carolina, physical therapy services for handicapped students are integrated into school settings via a coordinated statewide effort. The model, headed by a physical therapy consultant, provides flexibility, supports an expanded role of therapists, emphasizes the team approach, and considers the physical therapist as a health professional.…

The manual discusses legal and procedural guidelines established by North Carolina regarding educational services for severely handicapped students. Covered in separate sections are the following topics (sample subtopics in parentheses): definition; placement procedures (referral, screening, school-based committee, assessment, placement, and exit…

This article describes a collaborative process that parents, teachers, consumers, and advocacy groups in North Carolina used to successfully establish a permanently funded university training program specializing in visual impairments, the Visual Impairment Training Program. Within this process several factors were identified that contributed to…