This article describes what is happening in the world of spiritual supports for children and adults with disabilities and their families. The good news is that individuals with disabilities are being seen all year long in many faith communities, families with kids with special needs are being welcomed and supported, and, best of all, there is…

People facing unemployment or who are underemployed need access to community and financial information and resources 24/7. Collaborating with community agencies and organizations, FCS educators developed a website with comprehensive local and state resources and educational tools that the consumer might otherwise not have been aware were…

In February 2009, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that the cholera epidemic in Zimbabwe had claimed 3,300 lives and infected 66,000 people--greater than the toll of that disease in the whole of Africa in most years. How is it possible that a disease such as cholera can have such a devastating effect in modern times? How should one…

The Transformative Change Initiative (TCI) is dedicated to assisting community colleges to scale up innovation in the form of guided pathways, programs of study, and evidence-based strategies to improve student outcomes and program, organization, and system performance. The impetus for TCI is the Trade Adjustment Assistance Community College and…

The Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG), the largest source of federal funding for child care assistance available to states, provides low-income families with help paying for child care. Studies have shown that low-income LEP (limited English proficient), as well as immigrant families, are less likely to receive child care assistance.…

Built on 1,500 acres of land reclaimed from the Yellow Sea off Incheon, about 35 miles from South Korea's capital, New Songdo City is billed as the largest private real-estate development in history. It is Korea's answer to Shanghai and Dubai. Estimates put the cost of the Songdo project, which is barely five years old, at up to $60-billion. The…

Many beginning farmers have little previous contact with Extension, yet they will comprise an important part of our future base of support. We present those educational activities directed toward beginning farmers that represent high impact, outcome-based Extension programming, given an educator's time limitations. This checklist of insights will…

A total of 33 sites, including states, school districts, charter school coalitions, and other education organizations make up Cohorts 1 and 2 of the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF). These sites received funds beginning in the fall of 2006 and spring of 2007 to redesign compensation programs for teachers and principals. The U.S. Department of…

First launched in April 2009, the Common Core State Standards Initiative was conceived to identify and develop college- and career-readiness standards that address what students are expected to know and be able to do when they have graduated from high school. The initiative introduced the final version of the standards in June 2010, and by…

In the aftermath of the devastating January 2010 earthquake in Haiti, international humanitarian groups and volunteers poured into the country, bolstering what was already one of the world's hot spots for nongovernmental organizations. But the magnitude of the disaster--an estimated 300,000 were killed and one million left homeless out of a…

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES, or the Institute), created as part of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) (Pub. L. 107-279), is the primary research arm of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). ESRA established the National Board for Education Sciences (NBES, or the Board) to advise and consult with the Director of the…

Much of the Northwest Region (Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington) is rural in nature. A characteristic of the extractive economies such as timber, agriculture, mining, and fisheries is that they are generally located in small communities isolated by distances. While schools in these communities face the same challenges as those in…

Beginning special education teachers have the same responsibilities as their more experienced counterparts. However, as these new teachers assume full teaching responsibilities they also must become familiar with district and school policies, curriculum, and assessment procedures. At the same time they are expected to build relationships with…

Technical assistance (TA) is designed to build the capacity of individuals and organizations to achieve desired outcomes. During the past decade technical assistance, like many educational initiatives, has been reconceptualized as a multi-tiered approach along a continuum from basic to intensive. Basic technical assistance is the most efficient…

On Friday, March 11, 2011, one of the worst disasters in the world hit the country of Japan. A magnitude 9.0 earthquake struck off the coast of Japan, forever changing the lives of the people and the state of the country. Not only were lives lost and homes destroyed, the tsunami that followed caused numerous nuclear accidents around the Fukushima…