The Utah Commission on Educational Excellence was created by the Utah State Board of Education to recommend improvements in the quality of education and the efficiency of schools. This report begins by summarizing the commission's 27 final recommendations for significant change in the Utah education system. These recommendations look to a system…

Rural America and its schools (which encompass nearly two-thirds of the 15,600 school districts in the United States) face an incredible array of challenges. Changes in demographic, economic, and social conditions are creating a new rural America which is beset by many problems. Rural poverty does not appear to be diminishing and researchers…

In recent years, the Illinois State Board of Education engaged in a series of special studies on all aspects of the State's public schools. The major part of this report describes eight fundamental problems in Illinois elementary and secondary education, as identified by the Board through its studies, and the actions which have been proposed in…

The Secretary of Education's most recent report on educational quality argues that American schools have not improved enough. Issues addressed include trends in standardized test scores, strengthening curriculum content, assuring equal intellectual opportunity, establishing an ethos of achievement, recruiting and rewarding good teachers and…

This document examines policy issues related to preparing educators to work with diverse learners, including students with disabilities. It begins by discussing the growing emphasis on accountability for all students and general education and special education as a unified system. Strategies that states are using for teacher recruitment and…

The Rural and Remote Education Advisory Council of Western Australia developed a 4-year plan to improve educational access, participation, and achievement by rural people of Western Australia. The plan outlines seven priorities: (1) ensuring that rural students are able to participate in quality education and training; (2) ensuring a broad…

This paper presents proceedings from a 2001 working conference of the State and District Support to Low-Performing Schools initiative, which presented research-based strategies and exemplary practice to improve low-performing schools. The presentations focused on state and district systems of support to low-performing schools; use of data to…

Generic skills--skills that apply across a variety of jobs and life contexts--are taking on increased importance in Australia and internationally. There is a high demand for generic skills in the workplace because employers seek to ensure business success by recruiting and retaining employees who have a variety of skills and personal attributes as…

This paper provides strategies used by several teacher education programs to enable beginning and continuing teachers to celebrate diversity in curriculum, faculty, and student body. Explains that successful programs identify and overcome such barriers to diversity as geographic location, limited pool of faculty applicants, unspoken prejudices,…

This guide provides information on personnel policies and practices, under Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which were instituted by states and jurisdictions in the implementation of early intervention services for eligible children and their families. Strategies of specific states are identified for dealing with staff…

This issue focuses on teaching for diversity, reviewing some strategies designed to increase the supply of minority teachers and to prepare all teachers to work with students of many different races, cultures, and backgrounds. These strategies are being piloted in programs across the United States. One strategy for increasing the supply of…

This book presents an analysis of and guide to Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. Part I considers the evolution of compliance standards under Section 504 with chapters on civil rights compliance standards, nondiscrimination versus affirmative action, and the recipient's obligation. Part II provides an overview of Section 504 covering:…

This monograph presents nine articles that describe innovative programs within small special education teacher education programs at a variety of institutions of higher education. The papers are: (1) "Furman University: A Field-Based Model for Small Liberal Arts Teacher Education Programs" (Shirley A. Ritter and Lesley A. Quast); (2) "Providing a…

The increasing racial and ethnic diversity of classrooms in the United States presents a significant challenge to the next generation of teachers and to those responsible for their training. This book explains the steps teacher educators and policymakers must take in order to prepare a teaching force that is both culturally diverse and culturally…

Intended for federal policymakers, this study examined four aspects of the Chapter 1 migrant education program: program administration, program services, students served, and program expenditures. Case studies were conducted in California, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts, Oregon, and Texas between November 1986 and March 1987. State agencies and…