This descriptive study of the twenty regional Education Service Centers in Texas is an exploratory analysis of programs and services that promote school improvement. Data collected from each service center website enabled the researcher to determine which programs and services are available to school districts and also allowed the researcher to…

District Awards for Teacher Excellence (D.A.T.E.) is a state-funded program in Texas that provides grants to districts for the implementation of locally-designed performance pay plans. All districts in the state are eligible to receive grants, but participation is voluntary. As D.A.T.E. continues in its second year of operation with approximately…

This report describes five state systems of support in low-performing schools. Discussion of each state system includes a description of the accountability system, the process for identifying low-performing schools, funding resources available, the technical assistance provided, the provider of that assistance, and the resources used to support…

The Governor's Educator Excellence Grant (GEEG) program was federally- and state-funded and provided three-year grants to schools to design and implement performance pay plans from the 2005-06 to 2007-08 school years. GEEG was implemented in 99 high poverty, high performing Texas public schools. This report builds on the previous GEEG evaluation…

This paper describes the development of the Texas Educator Preparation Improvement Initiative (EPII), a program evaluation process for teacher preparation entities that involved a peer technical assistance program. Planners ensured that: all recommendations would be devoid of punitive measures; assistance would only be provided if requested by the…

This packet presents the final report and related supporting material of the federally supported Texas Deaf-Blind Project, which provided technical assistance to families of children with deaf-blindness, as well as public and private agencies, institutions, and organizations providing services to this population throughout Texas. During the grant…

Ten of the twenty Education Service Centers (ESC) that provide instructional and technical services to the local school districts in Texas were asked to participate in a project designed to demonstrate infusion and management techniques in career education. Activities were accomplished under the following objectives: (1) establish the…