Background: Local governments increasingly rely on sales taxes to raise revenue, often justifying the need for a local sales tax increase with a specific programmatic goal, such as better education or transportation. In Washington State, the legislature explained that a local sales tax increase was necessary to support criminal justice because…

Physical education is critical to addressing childhood obesity, yet many school-based programs do not meet established quality standards and teachers are called upon to change. Little is known about how change is initiated and its associated internal and external factors. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate physical education…

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) initiatives represent an extensive and expanding movement across American education. Nationally, funding for K-12 STEM programs increased from $700 million to almost $1 billion from 2005 to 2007 alone (US DOE, Report of the Academic Competitiveness Council, 2007, p. 51). Although there is a…

The purpose of this article is to describe lessons learned from studying the leadership in eight award-winning secondary schools and districts that were recognized for successfully leveraging technology as part of their efforts for school improvement. Data were collected through observations, interviews, and document analysis in schools and…

Describes a rural Washington State program called Project REACH that developed an effective curriculum for teaching racial and ethnic tolerance. (MD)

This article presents an infusion model for integrating social and behavioral skills into the general curriculum for students with disabilities and presents the "Violence Is Preventable" project (Washington State) as an example. Discussion includes available curricula on school survival and social skills, the instructional model, and…

Curriculum in the United States is largely a fragmented set of subjects and teachers to present them. Many Pacific Northwestern educators are looking for innovative ways to organize curriculum that over comes the traditional structure. As knowledge of the learning process increases, integrative curriculum is being employed more frequently. Several…

This booklet, based on school and community experiences in the state of Washington, was written to provide practical strategies to enable teachers and administrators to enrich instruction through service and service learning. Filled with vignettes and examples of service learning that is taking place in Washington schools, the booklet includes…

This manual offers a multicultural basic skills curriculum for Grades K-12 in Washington State schools, and provides student learning goals. A brief introduction describes the curriculum model and defines multicultural education as a perspective and process which can be integrated with any of the basic skill content areas. The remainder of the…

This handbook presents information for the use of Washington State school districts and schools in the development of physical education programs that conform with Federal and State regulations regarding sex equity. It consists of five major sections which provide, respectively: (1) State legislation pertaining to education, physical education,…

Describes how environmental education can help school reform. Presents ways in which environmental education can enhance the learning environment for students, teachers, and surrounding communities. (CCM)

This study, which resulted in a revised music curriculum for the Snohomish, Washington, School District, addressed the problem of relating the measurement and evaluation of students in music courses to established student learning objectives. Part 1 establishes student learning objectives based on a proposed curriculum for a comprehensive K-12…

A project was conducted to develop a model vocational marketing plan, strategy, curriculum, and camera-ready products appropriate for use by school districts throughout Washington state. Puget Sound area secondary vocational education directors were interviewed to gather information on the current status of vocational education marketing. Next,…

The Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) conducted a study of educational needs in its member states: Alaska Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. The 1992 Regional Needs Assessment had three objectives: (1) to identify current and emerging issues affecting educators in the Northwest; (2) to identify research and development needs…

Intended to develop guidelines in gifted education appropriate for the approximately 212 Washington rural school districts with fewer than 2000 students, the booklet has 3 purposes: to describe Washington's rural community, to provide basic information about gifted education, and to encourage the planning and development of rural programs in…