This guide, which is designed for individuals interested in establishing joint endeavors among schools, social service agencies, cultural institutions, businesses, industries, and/or institutions of higher education, illustrates promising practices supporting and reflecting partnership activities. Part 1 is divided into three sections detailing practices supporting partnership building in the following areas: needs assessments (educational, community, and participant-based needs assessments); project staffing (transition of key personnel and volunteer project managers); and initiating activities (identifying and recruiting partners, recruiting volunteers, and recruiting partners). Part 2 includes four sections in which promising practices representing partnership activities in the following areas are described: staff development (cross-agency training, teacher-tutor training, school-based master's degrees); student support services (peer tutor-mentors and business mentors and coaches); school-to-work transition (articulated curricula, job skills workshops, job shadows, health career internships, and business and instructional internships); and community involvement (parent education, resource directories, and public hearings). Concluding the guide is a profile of one promising partnership that encompasses many of the practices described. Appended are the names/addresses of the members of the Educational Partnership Study Group, which conducted the study out of which this guide grew. (MN)

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

This guide includes practices that deal with partnership building, and practices that represent typical partnership activities. Includes examples of educational and community needs assessments; approaches to project staffing; approaches to recruiting partners and volunteers; staff development for social service agency, school, and business personnel; student support services, including mentors and coaches; activities involved in school-to-work transition programs, including job skills workshops, job shadowing, and internships; and community involvement, including parent education and town hall meetings.

Universal Design in Higher Education looks at the design of physical and technological environments at institutions of higher education; at issues pertaining to curriculum and instruction; and at the full array of student services. Universal Design in Higher Education is a comprehensive guide for researchers and practitioners on creating fully accessible college and university programs. It is founded upon, and contributes to, theories of universal design in education that have been gaining increasingly wide attention in recent years. As greater numbers of students with disabilities attend postsecondary educational institutions, administrators have expressed increased interest in making their programs accessible to all students. This book provides both theoretical and practical guidance for schools as they work to turn this admirable goal into a reality. It addresses a comprehensive range of topics on universal design for higher education institutions, thus making a crucial contribution to the growing body of literature on special education and universal design. This book will be of unique value to university and college administrators, and to special education researchers, practitioners, and activists.

This publication¿the latest report from AAC&U¿s Liberal Education and America¿s Promise (LEAP) initiative¿defines a set of educational practices that research has demonstrated have a significant impact on student success. Author George Kuh presents data from the National Survey of Student Engagement about these practices and explains why they benefit all students, but also seem to benefit underserved students even more than their more advantaged peers. The report also presents data that show definitively that underserved students are the least likely students, on average, to have access to these practices.

Teachers and administrators will learn how to create the respectful, trusting relationships with families necessary to build the educational partnerships that best support children's learning. The book will cover the mindset and core beliefs required to bond with families, and will provide guidance on how to plan engagement opportunities and events throughout the school year that undergird effective partnerships between families and schools.

Business Practices in Higher Education is a breakthrough guide offering higher education and student affairs professionals an understanding of the fundamental business nature of colleges and universities. The author discusses the practical applications of business concepts and models and how these applications can contribute to the overall efficiency and effectiveness of higher education institutions. Useful examples from a wide range of institutions—including small privates, large publics, and community colleges—illustrate these concepts. This professional guide is organized into the following four sections: Environment and Structure Finance and Funding People and Processes Perspectives on the Future Business practices pervade the academic, student affairs, and administrative sides of higher education. This book affords readers a greater understanding of the true nature of higher education and an appreciation for how the academy effectively incorporates business practices into everyday work lives.

The long-awaited new edition of NAEYC's book Developmentally Appropriate Practice in Early Childhood Programs is here, fully revised and updated! Since the first edition in 1987, it has been an essential resource for the early childhood education field. Early childhood educators have a professional responsibility to plan and implement intentional, developmentally appropriate learning experiences that promote the social and emotional development, physical development and health, cognitive development, and general learning competencies of each child served. But what is developmentally appropriate practice (DAP)? DAP is a framework designed to promote young children's optimal learning and development through a strengths-based approach to joyful, engaged learning. As educators make decisions to support each child's learning and development, they consider what they know about (1) commonality in children's development and learning, (2) each child as an individual (within the context of their family and community), and (3) everything discernible about the social and cultural contexts for each child, each educator, and the program as a whole. This latest edition of the book is fully revised to underscore the critical role social and cultural contexts play in child development and learning, including new research about implicit bias and teachers' own context and consideration of advances in neuroscience. Educators implement developmentally appropriate practice by recognizing the many assets all young children bring to the early learning program as individuals and as members of families and communities. They also develop an awareness of their own context. Building on each child's strengths, educators design and implement learning settings to help each child achieve their full potential across all domains of development and across all content areas.

Discover the teaching practices that make the biggest difference in student performance! This practical, research-based book gives principals, teachers, and school administrators a direct, inside look at instructional practices from top award-winning urban schools. The authors provide detailed examples and analyses of these practices, and successfully demystify the achievement of these schools. They offer practical guides to help educators apply these successful practices in their own schools. Teaching Practices from America's Best Urban Schools will be a valuable tool for any educator in both urban and non-urban schools-schools that serve diverse student populations, including English language learners and children from low-income families.