This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Robert C. Pianta, Peter Eichstaedt, Diane Pinkey, Virginia B. Edwards, Bradley Glenn Shreve, David J. Hoff, Michael Scott, Ramon Dominguez, John Copenhaver, and Judy Hofer.
(2006). Embracing the Common Cause Advocating for Ed Tech, Learning & Leading with Technology. This is a common response from educators confronted with the notion of advocating for educational technology funding. But, in a time when U.S. funding for Ed Tech is in danger of being cut from the budget, ISTE believes that all of its members, and in fact, all U.S. educators, must become advocates for our common cause. "Effective advocacy from people close to the classroom makes a huge difference," says ISTE president and New Mexico's Deputy Cabinet Secretary of Education Kurt Steinhaus. And, a driving goal for ISTE's Director of Government Affairs Hilary Goldmann is to help educators understand "how important it is for individuals to have their voices heard." But how does the average tech coordinator, teacher, media specialist, or even administrator take the case for educational technology to a higher level? The author describes ISTE?s Advocacy Toolkit and the Ed Tech Action Network (ETAN), as easy steps one can take to advocate at any level and for any cause. [More] [More] Descriptors: Educational Technology, Educational Finance, Advocacy, Educational Media
(2006). Up against Giants: The National Indian Youth Council, the Navajo Nation, and Coal Gasification, 1974-77, American Indian Culture and Research Journal. In the spring of 1977, members of the National Indian Youth Council (NIYC), along with the Coalition for Navajo Liberation, barraged the Secretary of the Interior and the chairman of the Navajo Nation with petitions calling for a halt to the proposed construction of several coal gasification plants on the Navajo Reservation in northwestern New Mexico. The petitions stated that the billion-dollar industrial venture would lead to "the inevitable genocide" of the local Navajo people whose culture and livelihood would "once again (be) trampled and ignored." The NIYC-led campaign to stop coal gasification began in 1974 and lasted through most of 1977. Their struggle was against not only the multinationals seeking to build and profit from the plants, but also the governments of both the United States and the Navajo Nation, which ignored the interests of the Burnham residents in their legislative wrangling over gasification. In this article, the author traces the history of the attempts of NIYC to stop the coal gasification in the Navajo Nation from 1974 to 1977. [More] Descriptors: Fuels, Navajo, Death, Navajo (Nation)
(2006). One Server Fits All, T.H.E. Journal. The benefits of deploying a communications system that runs over the Internet Protocol are well documented. Sending voice over the Internet, a process commonly known as VoIP, has been shown to save money on long distance calls, make voice mail more accessible, and enable users to answer their phones from anywhere. The technology also makes adding and transferring extensions around a district easy. Despite its growing popularity, however, VoIP has generated a certain amount of frustration. Even though communications tools have proliferated, users' increasing mobility has made the users difficult to reach on the first try. In response, some school districts are expanding their IP communications to include a whole host of other technologies in addition to VoIP. This article discusses unified communications, an approach that links together a variety of communications applications and runs them over the Internet, providing parents and users alike with virtually limitless ways to get in touch. As indicated by case studies from academic organizations such as Farmington Municipal Schools (New Mexico), the Santa Clara County Office of Education (California), and the School District of Cheltenham Township (Pennsylvania), unifying communications has improved communication across the board. [More] Descriptors: Telecommunications, Internet, Computer Mediated Communication, School Districts
(1994). A Normal Education: The Spanish-American School at El Rito, La Herencia del Norte: Our Past, Our Present, Our Future. A brief account of student experiences at the Spanish-American Normal School (Northern New Mexico Normal School) in El Rito, New Mexico, during the 1950s. Founded as a teacher training center in 1909, the boarding school later served elementary and secondary Hispanic students seeking an education not available in poor rural New Mexico communities. Descriptors: Boarding Schools, Disadvantaged, Educational History, Elementary Secondary Education
(2003). The Workforce Paradox for Adults with Limited Literacy or English Language Proficiency: A Report from the Field. Under the 1998 Workforce Investment Act (WIA), One Stop Career Centers were developed to provide training and employment related services to adults, youths, and dislocated workers. This study investigated the extent to which adults with limited literacy and/or English language skills were being served at One Stop Career Centers in New Mexico. Data were collected from March-November of 2002 from One Stop customers, One Stop directors and staff, Adult Basic Education (ABE) and Literacy program directors, and employers via individual and focus group interviews. Results indicated that the population of need rarely gained access to job training services, was unlikely to get a formal referral to ABE and Literacy programs at the core level of service at the One Stop Centers, and was not guaranteed access to information about intensive and job training services either in their communities at large or within the One Stops (most received limited or no information about these services). Recommendations include show leadership on WIA in New Mexico by ensuring universal access to all WIA services by the population of need; create significant WIA policy changes; and improve services at One Stops in several priority areas. (Adjunct ERIC Clearinghouse for ESL Literacy Education.) (Contains 14 references.) [More] Descriptors: Adult Basic Education, Employment Opportunities, English (Second Language), Immigrants
(2006). The Uneven March toward Social Justice: Diversity, Conflict, and Complexity in Educational Administration Programs, Journal of Educational Administration. Purpose: This paper aims to provide a framework for the development and implementation of educational administration programs that encourage practitioners and educational administration faculty to push application and preparation beyond reproducing tendencies of the status quo as well as to open education to the potential of embracing silenced or marginalized learners. Design/methodology/approach: Two programs developed and implemented by the Department of Educational Management and Development (EMD) at New Mexico State University are described and discussed. The programs are reviewed to show the gradual but significant transformation to a social justice content beginning with the more traditionally-aligned program in educational administration, the Community College Leadership Doctoral Program (CCLDP), and concluding with a detailed description of the Educational Leadership Doctoral Program (ELDP), a leadership program that unites traditional educational administration curriculum with social justice inquiries of power and privilege. Findings: The detailed information attempts to teach practitioners and educational administrators how to gain entry into institutional power structures so communication, collaboration, and reform can occur. Originality/value: The paper provides the tools to survive in existing systems and the awareness to see inequalities. The capability of creating change in educational environments expecting a business-as-usual-paradigm is also discussed. [More] Descriptors: Social Justice, Open Education, Educational Administration, Doctoral Programs
(2006). Solving the Funding Riddle, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Some education officials with expertise in American Indian scholarship programs say a lack of available money and information continue to limit American Indian enrollment in higher education. Pamela Silas, director of the American Indian Science and Engineering Society (AISES) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, says they help more than 100 students a year. Despite its name, the organization also awards scholarships for American Indians studying agricultural science, architecture, business and law. However, she thinks they really end up serving only about one-third of the applications they get. There remains a very large unmet need. Part of the problem is finding the money for the scholarships. An equally daunting challenge is getting that money into the hands of needy students, says Bonnie Mausia, scholarship coordinator with American Indian Services in Provo, Utah. Silas also says she thinks some of the many American Indian community programs in rural and isolated sections of the country have been less successful, because the scholarship sponsors "just don't have the relationships they need with these various communities. They don't know where to go to get the information into the right hands." Even in the face of such challenges, Quinton Roman Nose, education director with the Cheyenne-Arapaho Tribes of Oklahoma, says the percentage of American Indian and Alaskan Native students in higher education is going to continue to increase, due in large part to the simple existence of so many scholarship options. [More] Descriptors: Higher Education, Scholarships, American Indians, College Students
(2006). Politics Pulls Teacher Pay to Forefront: Surging Revenues Cited by Governors in Plans, Education Week. Teachers may reap rewards on payday during the upcoming school year, thanks to increasingly flush state coffers and the political dynamics of an election year. Governors from both political parties, in many of the 36 states holding gubernatorial elections in the fall of 2006, are urging their legislatures to raise pay for teachers or give them cash incentives to improve their own skills and boost their students' performance. The proposals include across-the-board raises in Alabama and New Mexico and a hike in the minimum salary in Arizona. The governors of Alaska and Mississippi are pitching employee bonuses tied to gains in student achievement. The teacher-pay proposals in a dozen or more states are possible because balance sheets are healthier than at any time since the economic downturn that ravaged state revenues starting in 2001. Forty-plus states are collecting more money than anticipated in the current fiscal year, and two dozen are raising revenue projections for fiscal 2007, which begins July 1, 2006 in most states. The proposals are also a sign that many governors seeking re-election hope to woo educators at the ballot box and impress voters in general with efforts to reward teachers and improve schools. [More] Descriptors: Teacher Salaries, Promotion (Occupational), Rewards, Incentives
(2006). Rural Revisited: A Decade and a Half of Practice, Zero to Three. No standard definition of rural areas exists for use in developing health care policy, research, and planning, or for purposes of federal program administration or distribution of funds. Families in rural areas define themselves in terms of values–typically a solid work ethic; traditional morals and values; hardiness; determination; a general acceptance of life's challenges; and a strong belief in spirituality, religion, or a higher power. However, many rural areas are plagued with drug and alcohol abuse, domestic violence, and teenage pregnancy. In some rural areas, the rates of these social ills exceed the rates in major urban centers. Barriers to mental health care for young children and families include (a) lack of access to affordable health and behavioral health care, (b) lack of specialized providers, and (c) stigma. Service providers' productivity is hampered by demanding travel, unreliable telephone communication, and a dearth of public funding. The author provides evidence of the effectiveness of high-quality training and supervision of staff in improving infant mental health services in New Mexico. Because every rural community has its own history and cultural norms to which "helpers" must be sensitive, the author argues for the benefits of building a cadre of well-trained infant mental health providers who are members of the local community and committed to staying and serving there. [More] Descriptors: Rural Areas, Mental Health Programs, Access to Health Care, Health Services
(2006). Leading for Learning, Education Week. After a decade or so spent largely on setting academic standards against which to hold schools accountable, states are themselves being held accountable for helping schools figure out how to meet them. The result is a huge leadership challenge. With few or no added resources, state education agencies are retooling to provide more technical support just as new federal rules are dramatically driving up the number of under-performing schools and districts demanding their assistance. This special report, that represents a supplement to the September 13, 2006 issue of "Education Week," takes a look at how U.S. states are taking new roles as they provide support for their low-performing schools and districts. According to the reports made by Education Week's review of the consolidated performance reports that they submitted to the U.S. Department of Education, the most common assistance provided by states are some form of guidance on drafting improvement plans. This special report of "Education Week" funded by The Wallace Foundation, includes the following articles: (1) Building Capacity (Jeff Archer); (2) Kentucky (David J. Hoff); (3) New Mexico (Linda Jacobson); and (4) Pennsylvania (Jeff Archer). [More] Descriptors: Federal Legislation, Educational Policy, State Action, State Aid
(2011). Foundations for Teaching Excellence: Connecting Early Childhood Quality Rating, Professional Development, and Competency Systems in States, Brookes Publishing Company. Improving teacher quality in early education is a major part of ensuring young children's school readiness and closing the achievement gap. This is the book decision-makers and administrators need to begin developing coordinated, effective teacher quality systems–ones that not only get teachers ready for the classroom, but also promote continuous learning of new skills and strategies. Edited by renowned early childhood education (ECE) experts Carollee Howes and Robert Pianta, this book is the first effort to integrate at a state level three critical components of teacher quality: Early Childhood Education Competencies, Professional Development, and Quality Rating Systems. After an in-depth exploration of all three components and their role in high-quality education, readers will get detailed analyses of how six states are making progress toward integrating them. Through case studies on each state–Delaware, Kentucky, Maryland, New Mexico, Ohio, and Pennsylvania–readers will examine the diverse approaches these systems are taking to: (1) determine early childhood education competencies and systematically link them with professional development and quality rating systems (QRS); (2) develop and manage the structure, content, and delivery of effective professional development; (3) establish the staff qualifications required at each QRS level, encourage teachers to move beyond basic licensing requirements; (4) organize and direct their funds; (5) provide incentives and motivation for staff participation in professional development; (6) create clear partnerships between state organizations to promote integration of systems; (7) and more. A call-to-action volume on three of the hottest topics in ECE, "Foundations for Teaching Excellence" represents today's best thinking about teacher quality and accountability, straight from 20 expert researchers, program directors, and leaders in the ECE policy field. Decision-makers and administrators will consider this book an essential reference as they take the first steps toward statewide, integrated teacher quality systems–and ensure that every young child gets the best possible education. This book contains two parts. Part I, National-Level Concerns, contains: (1) Early Childhood Professional Development Systems Definitions and Measurement Approaches (Martha Zaslow, Tamara Halle, Kathryn Tout, and Debra Weinstein); (2) Integrating Quality Rating Systems and Professional Development Systems in Early Childhood (Lori Connors-Tadros and Barbara Coccodrilli Carlson); (3) Integrating Professional Standards for the Early Childhood Workforce: Putting the Pieces Together (Sarah LeMoine, Alison Lutton, Davida McDonald, and Jerlean Daniel); and (4) Early Childhood Competencies: Sitting on the Shelf or Guiding Professional Development? (Pamela J. Winton and Tracey West). Part II, Implementation at the State Level, contains: (5) What Do State Quality Rating Systems Say About Early Childhood Education Competencies and Professional Development? (Youngok Jung, Cathy Tsao, and Jennifer Vu); (6) Professional Development Systems for Early Childhood Educators within a State and Federal Policy Context (Sandra L. Soliday Hong, Terri Walters, and Tamar Mintz); and (7) Evaluating the Integration of Systems on Effective Teaching, Classroom Environments, and Children's Preacademic Learning (Promjawan Udommana, Jill Haak, and Tamar Mintz). An appendix and an index are included. [More] Descriptors: School Readiness, Teacher Effectiveness, Early Childhood Education, Incentives
(2006). A Matter of Survival, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. A national movement is afoot to revitalize the hundreds of native languages that once flourished across North America and the Hawaiian islands. Experts say that because the majority of native language speakers are passing away, almost all of these languages could be gone by 2050. While universities have been a reservoir for the study and research of native languages, much of the current movement revolves around the immersion programs now available in many native schools and communities. The idea behind the schools is to teach native language to children at an early age so that it is incorporated into their daily speech and–where feasible–their school instruction. Bills that would fund these schools and programs are being considered by the U.S. Congress. The House of Representatives, for example, passed House Bill 4766, sponsored by U.S. Representative Heather A. Wilson, R-New Mexico, in September. These programs are considered necessary, according to one advocate, because "when [a] language dies, so do the people, because along with it go all your stories and history." [More] Descriptors: Languages, Immersion Programs, English (Second Language), Native Language Instruction
(2006). Serving the Underserved, Diverse: Issues in Higher Education. Efforts to expand diversity in the health professions has received a boost from a prominent member of Congress. U.S. Senator Bill Frist, R-Tennessee, recently introduced a bill to amend the Public Health Service Act as part of a comprehensive initiative to improve the health of minority and other underserved populations. This bill, which is being co-sponsored by Democratic Senators Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts, Barack Obama of Illinois and Jeff Bingaman of New Mexico, would include funding for the country's colleges and universities to recruit, train and retain minority students in the health professions. The proposed amendment comes on the heels of two studies documenting the barriers colleges and universities face in advancing health career opportunities for under-represented populations. Groundbreaking reports published by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academies and the Sullivan Commission on Diversity in the Healthcare Workforce examine the low levels of minority participation in these professions and provide recommendations on the role of higher education institutions in reversing the trend. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Health Services, Employment Opportunities, Public Health
(2000). Extended School Year Services: The New Mexico State Department of Education Technical Assistance Document. [Revised and Updated]. This document presents an analysis of the New Mexico program of providing extended school year services to students with disabilities in need of such services. Individual sections provide the following information: the philosophy of extended school services in New Mexico; authority under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; purpose of extended school year services for students receiving special education; definitions; the need for extended school year services as determined by the student's Individualized Education Program committee; guidelines for reasonable recoupment periods; duration of extended year services; and possible service delivery models (direct services, parent training, and cooperative service arrangements). The final section provides 22 questions and answers regarding extended school year programming. [More] Descriptors: Compliance (Legal), Disabilities, Elementary Secondary Education, Extended School Year
(2006). Historical Trauma: Holocaust Victims, American Indians Recovering from Abuses of the Past, Tribal College Journal of American Indian Higher Education. Natural disasters and terrorism have raised national awareness of major human trauma. In fall 2005, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate from their homes. Among American Indian people, these times bring to mind the trauma suffered by their ancestors: The Trail of Tears during the 1830s removed 18,000 Cherokee, Muskogee, and hundreds of other Indians from the Southeast to Oklahoma. (Over 4,000 Cherokee died, either in stockades where they were imprisoned before removal, or along the way.) In 1863 on the Long Walk, over 8,000 Dine and Apache were herded to incarceration at Fort Sumner, New Mexico. (About 2,000 died.) In 1890, hundreds of Lakota were killed at Wounded Knee, South Dakota. Each removal left Indian people in the most destitute of circumstances, forced to rebuild their lives without resources. This article presents an interview with Maria Yellow Horse Brave Heart, who contends that Indian people suffer from historical trauma and continue to exhibit the after-effects, as evidenced by high rates of alcohol and substance abuse, suicide, broken families, poverty, and related mental health issues. [More] Descriptors: Public Policy, Death, American Indians, American Indian History