Poverty and unemployment aren't spread evenly across cities or regions, but rather are concentrated in disinvested urban neighborhoods and rural communities around the country. These communities are home to the nation's most vulnerable children and families. Despite some signs of improvement in economic conditions for families in the United…

In efforts to address child care provider concerns about the staffing crisis, many Smart Start counties in North Carolina are seeking to implement substitute programs to promote release time for child caregivers to return to school or to cover staff illness and leave time. This type of substitute program involves the use of regularly employed,…

Many small and midsized businesses seeking to change by purchasing new technology, restructuring their work processes, and/or upgrading their employees' skills require outside assistance from educational institutions (including community colleges, universities, and state literacy and training programs), nonprofit organizations, and private…

The paper addresses the importance of developing a rural community's commercial sector for economic development by providing some analytical tools. Procedures are outlined to estimate commercial sector activity in a community, to estimate commercial sector activity for various counties within a state (Nevada is used as an example), and to develop…

Numerous studies indicate that climate, the prevailing "feeling" of the environment, not only contributes to behavioral and situational outcomes, but that climate can be changed to help bring about the behaviors and outcomes desired. Researchers have identified characteristics of positive school climates and ways of determining the…

This paper examines five key trends impacting higher education administration: (1) traditional funding sources are flat or decreasing; (2) public expectations and state mandates are calling for more reporting requirements and accountability; (3) consumer expectations demand more sophisticated services requiring greater access to date; (4) evolving…

Economic development efforts in small towns should focus on the birth, expansion, and retention of small enterprises. A consistent and rational policy towards new growth and an enthusiastic development team composed of individuals with knowledge of or access to others with knowledge of industrial sites, financing, utilities, labor, transportation,…

This source book provides guidance and technical assistance material on utilizing forest, agricultural, and scenic and wildlife resources for rural economic development. The document focuses on the uniqueness of existing rural resources for new enterprise opportunities. Natural resource-based economic development strategies are a means to…

This Technical Assistance Bulletin is to be utilized by districts and schools to design and implement their components of the Rhode Island High School Diploma System (Diploma System) as required by the RI Board of Regents' "Regulations Regarding High School and Ensuring Literacy for Students Entering High School" (Regents' Regulations)…

This guide draws on case studies to identify lessons for small and midsized firms who wish to improve the quality of their services and facilitate change. Following an introduction, section 2 describes the context in which the research was undertaken after a needs analysis was conducted of small and midsized businesses and service providers, and…

This theme issue addresses the provision of behavioral support for students with behavior disorders. The first article, "Providing Effective Behavior Support to All Students: Procedures and Processes" (George Sugai), summarizes the literature on the effectiveness of various interventions and offers several models for examining the…

This guide was developed to help people meet the challenge of developing early childhood programs that are inclusive of all children, regardless of disability. The manual was written in the spirit of a quilting book, in its recognition of the importance of the quiltmaker's (and the program developer's) own adaptations, creativity, and inspiration.…

The 5-year New Hampshire Statewide Systems Change Project has provided training and technical assistance to educators, families, and communities to effectively implement the full inclusion of students with disabilities in New Hampshire schools and communities. This guide was developed to disseminate successful strategies for starting the process…

A monograph for school district personnel and education agencies presents a comprehensive plan to address the legal and administrative complexities of implementation of services for language minority students, particularly in bilingual education programs. The first section sketches federal involvement in bilingual education and related programs…

This document contains materials about and from the Planning for Change (PfC) project, which was conducted to accomplish the following objectives: (1) further develop and document a comprehensive community planning process across Pennsylvania's workforce investment board (WIB) regions; (2) pilot the comprehensive planning project; and (3) expand…