Many professionals in the early childhood field are inspired by community-driven initiatives that hold great promise for transforming outcomes for the youngest children and their families. However, most collective impact efforts are mobilized in large urban areas, where early childhood professionals and civic leaders take the lead. New Mexico has…

More and more districts--and several states--are adopting funding models like student-based budgeting (also called weighted student funding or fair student funding) to increase equity and promote principal autonomy. Giving school leaders new resources and new flexibility is a good first step, but it doesn't automatically lead to improved student…

Library and cross-disciplinary literature all stress the increasing importance of instructional technology in higher education. However, there is a dearth of articles detailing funding for library instructional technology. The bulk of library literature on funding for these projects focuses on one-time grant opportunities and on the architecture…

In fall 2007, and in alignment with the strategic plan of the Colorado State Board of Education, the Colorado Department of Education released "Forward Thinking," a plan which publicly announced seven goals that, when attained, would culminate in a statewide system of accountability and support addressing the needs of all districts. Some…

There is evidence in recent Government policy in England of the emergence of a wider role for schools in relation to the neighbourhoods they serve. In particular, the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal in England sets the work of schools within the context of an overarching regeneration strategy. The study reported here, sponsored by the…

Based on Penn State's popular "Innovation Insights" series, this book brings together in one handy reference nearly a decade of tried and true insights into continuous quality improvements in higher education. Their five-step model for integrating planning, assessment, and improvement moves plans off the shelf and into the weekly and daily…

The Center for Summer Learning examined various summer program models and found that there are nine characteristics that provide a framework for effective summer programs. In this chapter, the authors demonstrate how effective practices lead to positive results for young people. The nine characteristics of effective summer learning programs are…

In September 2007 the Colorado Department of Education and the Colorado State Board of Education jointly announced the launch of "Forward Thinking", an ambitious plan "to create a purpose-driven and dynamic system of educational leadership, service and support that relentlessly focuses on the learning of all students." The…

Profiles cooperative projects developed at elementary schools in the Miami-Dade County Library Power Grant. Discusses the librarian/teacher collaborative planning process. Describes the PEACE (Plan for Excellence in a Collaborative Environment) project which revolves around a multi-leveled, pyramid design for collaborative planning. (AEF)

This paper provides the framework and context for a systems approach to planning, detailed descriptions of specific steps in the planning process, conclusions, and questions for consideration when executing strategic planning in higher education. The analysis is based on the work of James T. Ziegenfuss, Jr. in his book "Designing…

In the face of reduced resources, increased levels of competition, and rapid technological advancement, it is critical that colleges learn how to plan for the future. There are four main phases of effective planning: development, implementation, evaluation of results (audit), and standardization. The Hoshin Planning model, which incorporates these…

In response to decreased levels of funding and declining enrollments, increased competition, and major technological advances, Allegany Community College, in Maryland, has developed a model for managing organizational change. The model incorporates the following four components for effective transition and change: conceptualization; communication;…

This paper presents a model that profiles organizations as they attempt to implement strategic distance learning. This model, Stages of Organizational Technology Capability for Distance Learning, identifies behaviors exhibited by business and industry that maximize use of technology for education and training at a distance, and ultimately…

An intercountry workshop on distance learning (DL) was conducted at the University of Khartoum, Sudan, in November 1991. Individuals involved in the World Health Organization's (WHO's) Health Learning Materials network in nine African countries (Sudan, Ethiopia, Guyana, Kenya, Mauritius, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe) met to share their…

Higher education career services are more strongly developed in the United Kingdom than in other European countries. Increasing numbers of students and pressures on university budgets and recent major transformations in the structures of work and career (including reduced recruitment into graduate training programs in large companies and erosion…