This article is intended for readers in the production agriculture industry who deal with grain sorghum throughout the growing season. This publication will discuss the impacts of the sugarcane aphid in various crops and the ways to manage and identify them as they continue to advance north.

One goal of Extension is to provide practical information that makes a difference to producers. Cow Herd Appraisal Performance Software (CHAPS) has provided beef producers with production benchmarks for 30 years, creating a large historical data set. Many such large data sets contain useful information but are underutilized. Our goal was to create…

This case study shares findings from the evaluation of the Accelerating Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at Neosho County Community College (NCCC) (Chanute, Kansas). It provides details on student outcomes and the college's lessons learned, and concludes with information on how the college will build from its project experience going…

This case study shares findings from the evaluation of the Accelerating Career and Technical Education (CTE) program at Hutchinson Community College (HCC) (Hutchinson, Kansas). It provides details on student outcomes and the college's lessons learned, and concludes with information on how the college will build from its project experience going…

This article is divided into three parts. The first examines specific fencing policies in Kansas, Nebraska, and other Plains states, highlighting the transformation from the "fence-out" to "fence-in" (herd laws) policies. The second part discusses the coming of the railroads to the Great Plains and the farmers and the ranchers…

During the summer of 2010, school districts across the country reported almost daily on their plans to lay off staff because of sharp declines in aid. Hundreds of thousands of teachers' jobs were on the line. If these losses materialized, class sizes would skyrocket and educational enrichment activities would be lost. Some districts shortened…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) The Hope and Promise of Charter Schools: A…

Finance students today live in the midst of an enormous financial crisis. Institutions both large and small are failing or being rescued through government intervention. This environment presents a host of learning opportunities for instructors as well as students. This paper discusses financial autopsies as a form of experiential learning…

This article describes the feelings of faculty members required to annually design an assessment project for each semester and report to the director of assessment the objectives and results of that project on a standardized form. What is misunderstood is that true assessment is part of the very "fiber of being" for many faculty members.…

Educational achievement in rural America is one of the country's great overlooked challenges. Rural students achieve below the U.S. average on national tests, and high school dropout rates are higher and college attendance lower than they are in cities and suburbs. When the U.S. Department of Education asks low-achieving schools to be turned…

"Education Matters" is the monthly newsletter of the Association of American Educators (AAE), an organization dedicated to advancing the American teaching profession through personal growth, professional development, teacher advocacy and protection. This issue of the newsletter includes: (1) Does Demography Dictate Destiny? The Radical…

This report presents the deliberations of the Central Regional Advisory Committee (RAC), one of 10 RACs established under the Educational Technical Assistance Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. sections 9601 et. seq.) to assess the educational needs of the region. The committee's report outlines the educational needs across the states of Colorado, Kansas,…

The Allen County Team for Individualized Occupational Needs (ACTION) Project is a cooperative career education project developed by three rural Kansas school districts and their communities. The participating high schools have enrollments of 500, 400, and 200 students. The ACTION Project is designed to provide quality career education through a…

Presents the results of a statewide survey of Kansas art teachers. Teachers revealed that Discipline Based Art Education had little influence on them. Primary areas of concern were lack of funding and low status of art programs. Includes statistical analysis of the relationship between teaching experience, level of education, and teaching…

Papers and materials contributed by four panelists are provided from a panel presentation. "Unlocking Potential in Gerontology" (Theodore W. Wischropp) explains the make-up and organization of two consortia involved in the aging projects in Kansas, briefly describes three federally funded grants, and addresses some issues from the…