This monograph reports on a qualitative evaluation of the Together We're Better (TWB) program, an effort in Minnesota to develop an inclusive, positive, supportive educational system. The TWB project focused on: (1) general education/special education collaboration within the state department of education; (2) district partnerships; (3) personnel…

The Families Matter series of papers from the Harvard Family Research Project advances the concept of family-centered child care, advocating an approach to early childhood education that addresses the development of the child and family together. Grounded in family support principles, which build on family strengths and work from a community's…

The multidimensional evaluation of a school project, part of an expanding system of school-linked services or "full-service" schools, is reported. Quantitative and qualitative results are presented. Discussion includes program effectiveness, social workers as mediators between home and school, and the effects of culture and immigration…

Early Head Start services are typically offered through home- or center-based delivery models. A formative evaluation of an example of each service delivery model was conducted. The purpose was to examine the issues involved in the implementation of these two service delivery models relative to the content of services, intensity of services,…

Researchers and policymakers have pointed to the lagging scores of eighth graders on international, national, and state assessments as evidence that students are not prepared to meet high academic standards and that middle grades reform is needed. In response to these concerns, educators have introduced reforms designed to provide middle-level…

This report presents the results of a 2-year collaborative effort by the Illinois State Board of Education and 2 independent evaluators to assess early childhood programs in various sites throughout Illinois, and to provide models for other schools or community programs developing and expanding services for young children. The evaluation…

This report evaluates the effectiveness of the Urban Academy program, a dropout prevention demonstration program involving a collaborative effort between Community School District 10 in the Bronx (New York) and the Victim Services Agency (VSA), a social service agency, to provide increased instructional support and social services to 78 at-risk…

The effects of home-based programming for infants and young children with hearing impairments and their families were studied, with a focus on the SKI*HI program, which includes identification/screening, home visits, support services, parent advisors, and a program management system. The study analyzed data on 5,178 children (ages birth to 5) with…

This report describes how the Parent Services Project (PSP) is being implemented in the communities of Bushwick and Washington Heights/Inwood in New York City, focusing on the progress made and the challenges encountered in the first 18 months of the program's implementation. Information for the report was obtained through on-site observations as…

In addressing the problem of disproportionate placement of minority students with special education in charter schools, Fierros describes the commentaries of this issue's contributing scholars. The contributions expose a variety of topics to address the needs of inequities experienced by students with special needs. These topics include: the…

Purpose and Methods: This report is the second benchmark study to assess the system of supports for school readiness. The data for this study was collected in the fall of 2006 on 537 entering kindergarten children and their families in eight representative schools across the County. The ecological model and methods from the first study, which was…

A feasibility study regarding the training and information needs of preschool and day care administrators, staff, and teachers regarding HIV/AIDS was conducted. This study also examined the issues associated with the presence of HIV-positive children in preschool and day care settings and the need for designing a program to help preschools and day…

This final report describes: (1) a model designed to help the transition of young children with special needs from early childhood programs into regular kindergarten and other regular education environments; and (2) the impact of TEEM (Transition into the Elementary Education Mainstream) Outreach in disseminating and replicating the model…

Considers key issues that schools, school districts, and other agencies need to address when planning a home visiting program to promote collaboration between home and school. Essential goals are defined, and the skills that home visitors need are explored. Home visiting programs are viewed as a developing process. (SLD)

This Statistics in Brief analyzes parents' reports of school practices to provide information to families, using data from the 2003 Parent and Family Involvement in Education Survey and the 1996 Parent and Family Involvement in Education and Civic Involvement Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program. Parent reports of school…