The purpose of this guide is to help college administrators and staff members implement the following two interventions designed to increase summer enrollment rates at their schools: (1) An informational campaign of personalized student communications using email and mail and informed by behavioral science. The campaign simplifies academic,…

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…

In today's global economy, a high-quality, comprehensive education is no longer just a pathway to opportunity--it is a prerequisite for success. Such an education must promote academic knowledge and skills, as well as the kind of individual and social competencies that are essential for navigating the relationships and challenges of the modern…

Higher education often operates under old rules -- rules that continue despite an increasingly diverse student population and improved understanding of human behavior and choice. Under these old rules, fewer than half of students graduate on time, if at all, and troubling equity gaps exist based on income, race, and ethnicity. It is time for new…

It is important for every student in Ohio to attend school every day. Missing too much school has longterm, negative effects on students, such as lower achievement and graduation rates. There are many reasons students miss school, but districts often can directly impact their students' attendance. By using data to identify and support students who…

"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…

Community schools have always rooted their work in a solid body of research about what it takes to promote student success, including parental involvement in children's education, rich and engaging out-of-school experiences, student wellness and family stability. Because the community schools strategy, on its face, makes sense--and because the…

Describes how one community (1) realized it had a problem with disaffected and troubled youth; (2) began to learn about the problem; (3) gradually shaped a youth program and then expanded it to reach younger teens; and (4) regained its young people. (SR)

This guide to the use of PAK materials is the first of the five-part Comprehensive Community-Based Services for Offenders Information PAK that provides guidelines for developing a system to improve ex-offender service delivery. (Parts 2 and 3, which also contain printed information, are available separately.) The first section discusses the need…

The purpose of this handbook is to provide guidelines for developing and implementing structured parent/community involvement programs in bilingual education and English as a Second Language (ESL) programs in local school districts. Section One concerns the assessment of school, parent, and community needs; this section contains suggestions for…

This paper describing a system for delivering comprehensive services to offenders is the third of the five-part Comprehensive Community-Based Services for Offenders Information PAK that provides guidelines for developing a system to improve exoffender service delivery. (Parts 1 and 2, which also contain printed information, are available…

This monograph contains three structured interview guides for interviewing principals, parents, and community leaders regarding gifted education as part of the needs assessment process under the Javits Grant Program. Many of the interview questions are multiple choice and all questions also solicit comments. The first interview is for building…

Describes an enrichment program for gifted primary-grade students using parent volunteers in Akron, Ohio. Twice a month, a parent provides enrichment activities for a group of six to eight students. The gifted coordinator provides the lesson plans and the classroom teacher provides the supplies. Informal evaluation has been positive and the…

In 1993, the Ohio General Assembly established nine service expectations for the state's two-year colleges and regional campuses to ensure a consistent level of quality regardless of organization or administrative structure. Additionally, the state Board of Regents established an Advisory Committee on Two-Year Service Expectations to identify a…

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…