From replacing print textbooks with digital content created by teachers or gathered from outside sources to encouraging students to explore the world around them digitally, many districts are creating a new type of student-friendly teaching and learning environment that goes beyond just adding computers to classrooms. Through a wide range of…

Congress recently passed legislation improving the Post-9/11 GI Bill for the millions of eligible Iraq and Afghanistan war veterans to use in their pursuit of education and training. This legislation provides a tremendous opportunity for these valued Americans to obtain the skills necessary for employment at a time when they are often making the…

This article features Ruth Wright Hayre, Philadelphia's first black high school teacher and principal whose work at William Penn High School for Girls became a model for counseling and motivation programs at other majority-black high schools in Philadelphia, expanding educational and career opportunities for thousands of "able" students.…

WorkReady Philadelphia is the City's comprehensive approach to youth workforce development. Since its founding in 2003, the initiative's efforts have leveraged funds from a variety of sources to significantly expand available opportunities for Philadelphia's youth. The WorkReady Philadelphia system aligns the efforts of the private sector,…

The General Educational Development (GED[R]) Tests, established in 1945, helped determine soldiers' high school qualifications for the workforce, as they returned home from WWII. Because many soldiers dropped out of school to join the military, achieving a certain score on the test was a way for them to demonstrate that they had attained high…

This paper presents the annual report of Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) for 2009-2010. This annual report documents the journeys of several participants in their programs who have gone on successfully to college and careers, and demonstrates the potential of young Philadelphians to begin to reach their goals. In telling these stories, they build…

Building a stronger teacher workforce requires the thoughtful orchestration of multiple processes working together in a human capital system. This white paper presents a framework that can be used to take stock of current efforts to enhance the teacher workforce in school districts or educational organizations, as well as their underlying theories…

Access to a quality education is unevenly mapped by the demographic context of the communities in which public school students live. A growing body of research suggests that this geographic effect deeply challenges the goal of equalizing educational opportunities. This paper explores the relationship between students' neighborhood characteristics…

The Pathways to Advancement initiative was launched by the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) to help governors and their policy advisors examine options and develop strategies for expanding working adults' access to and completion of postsecondary education. In September 2003, the NGA Center issued a request for…

This publication welcomes students attending one of the American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC's) international fairs during Fall 2007 in Jakarta and Surabaya, Indonesia; Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; Hong Kong and Macau, China; and Seoul, Korea. AACC holds these tours to acquaint international students in Asia with the benefits of…

America's K-12 education system faces three significant challenges: (1) increased global demands for skilled workers, (2) significant financial shortfalls, and (3) a looming teacher shortage. Independently, these factors present significant challenges for U.S. schools. In combination, they create a national imperative for swift action to create a…

Children grow and change more rapidly during the first eight years of life than any other time in their life span. Progression through the physical, cognitive, and social-emotional developmental stages varies for each individual child. Children with atypical development experience a wide spectrum of variability in their development. Over the past…

While study abroad is increasingly popular among students in the United States (IIE 2007), tenure track faculty involvement with these programs has not kept up with demand. University and college-run programs often struggle to find sufficient numbers of tenure track faculty, especially junior faculty, to staff their programs. While older faculty…

This oral history study addressed the problem of under-representation of minority teachers through the voices and perspectives of five African American female paraprofessional teacher aides who entered the teaching profession through participation in the Career Opportunities Program in Erie, Pennsylvania from 1970 through 1974. Two theoretical…

Carmen Scialabba was on his way to making a name for himself in professional boxing, winning the 1959 All Marine Corps Lightweight Boxing Championship and realizing his dream of boxing at Madison Square Garden when his dreams were shattered after contracting polio at the age 25. But his disability did not stop him from earning a degree and…