This first issue in P/PV's "In Brief" series focuses on the Amachi program, which partners faith-based organizations with public agencies and nonprofit service providers to identify the children of prisoners and match them with caring adult volunteers. "Amachi In Brief" touches on the program's development and recruiting…

ISO 9000 is a set of quality standards that assists an organization to identify, correct and prevent errors, and to promote continual improvement. Educational institutions worldwide are implementing ISO 9000 as they face increasing external pressure to maintain accountability for funding. Similar to other countries, in the United States vocational…

The central message of this report is that while some students drop out because of significant academic challenges, most dropouts are students who could have, and believe they could have, succeeded in school. This survey of young people who left high school without graduating suggests that, despite career aspirations that require education beyond…

This report contains 40 tables and 10 figures providing data on education in Pennsylvania in the areas of students, staff, finances, schools, and libraries for the 1991-92 school year. A statistical summary shows that in that year, the state had: 501 public school districts; 29 intermediate units; 3,252 public schools; 2,312 private and non-public…

This report provides Pennsylvania state legislators and educators with policy-relevant information about the distance learning needs of rural Pennsylvania school districts. Two surveys, covering rural and urban-suburban Pennsylvania school districts, examined distance learning programs and technologies currently being used and the possibility of…

The major purpose of this brief descriptive study was to determine the levels of professional and support staffing within the administrative, technical, public, and media services areas of Pennsylvania's private college libraries. The study also includes comparative data on student assistant staffing. Questionnaires were mailed to library…

The freshmen orientation programs offered by the colleges and universities that hold membership in the Pittsburgh Council of Higher Education (PCHE) were studied, and recommendations for a comprehensive orientation process were suggested. Interviews with three individuals for each program at nine institutions were sought; attention was directed…

The purpose of this study was to identify factors influencing students to enroll in an urban agricultural education program. Former students' in the study indicated parents and/or guardians as the individuals most influencing their decision to enroll in an urban agricultural education program. However, former students' indicated their mother or…

This document summarizes what disciplinary approaches other than detention, suspension, expulsion, and corporal punishment are being used in the schools of Pennsylvania. This information was obtained in a survey of selected Pennsylvania school districts. The disciplinary approaches fall into two main categories: (1) disciplinary techniques, which…

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF LOCAL RESIDENTS FOR POST-HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION, THE ABILITY OF EXISTING FACILITIES TO MEET THE NEEDS, FACTORS WHICH RESTRICT THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, AND COURSES OF ACTION FOR MEETING LOCAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS. HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS, ADULTS, MAJOR EMPLOYERS IN BUCKS COUNTY, AND…

THE TERM "SLOW LEARNER" IS USED IN THIS REPORT TO DESIGNATE THE 18 TO 20 PERCENT OF SCHOOL CHILDREN WHO MEASURE APPROXIMATELY 50 TO 89 IQ ON INDIVIDUAL INTELLIGENCE TESTS. THE PURPOSES OF THE PROJECT WERE TO IDENTIFY AREAS OF VOCATIONAL OPPORTUNITY BEST SUITED TO THE ABILITIES AND INTERESTS OF THE SLOW LEARNER, ADOPT CRITERIA FOR OPTIMUM…

The purposes of this study were to: (1) identify and cluster occupational titles, (2) identify, rate, and cluster groups of competencies, (3) determine whether there are differences in level of competencies needed, (4) determine the experience background preferred, and (5) determine the type of "nservice education being provided employees of…

This publication presents a lengthy study of the intermediate educational unit system in the state of Pennsylvania. Purpose of the study was to describe in a comprehensive manner the programmatic, operational, and fiscal aspects of intermediate units, to examine the significant interactions between intermediate units and other agencies…

Because of the individual authority of each State for its own educational program, practices and policies differ widely among them in many respects. Yet in the midst of differences there are also common elements of development. The U. S. Office of Education, in presenting this series of monographs, has attempted to point out those common elements,…

Reports the results of three statewide studies in Alaska, Colorado, and Pennsylvania, which show that a school library media program with a full-time library media specialist, support staff, and a strong computer network leads to higher student achievement as evidenced on standardized achievement tests. (LRW)