Newsgroups: bit.listserv.erl-l
Date:         Sun, 26 Jul 1992 11:11:00 CDT
From:         P30JWP1@NIU.BITNET
Subject:      PFK23 OER

The following is provided by the Office of Educational Research
and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.  Please feel
welcome to distribute.

         OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT

                         PROGRAM REPORTS

            PROGRAMS FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF PRACTICE

Programs for the Improvement of Practice (PIP) aims to narrow the
<{gap between what is known and what is done in American education.

PIP's mission is to ensure that education data, research
findings, and exemplary practices are easily accessible to
teachers, school administrators, and others seeking to improve
education.
<{
PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

OERI Bulletin.  Outreach recently released the Winter edition of
the OERI BULLETIN, which included a one-page message from
Assistant Secretary Ravitch summarizing OERI's goals.  (A copy is
included in your packet of information.)  The BULLETIN  also
includes articles on education research, statistics, and
practice; describes new OERI publications and data tapes; and
highlights important OERI-sponsored events and competitions for
contract and grant awards.    The BULLETIN is a public document
and may be reproduced in part or in its entirety without
<{permission in your association newsletters.  Please credit OERI.
(Contact:  Kay McKinney, 219-1674)

Cooperative Publishing.  To expand OERI's reach, Outreach seeks
out education associations and private organizations interested
in cooperative publishing efforts.  We are looking for businesses
and associations interested in working with us to publish OERI
publications, especially those targeted for parents.  In
addition, camera copy for several OERI publications is available
so that associations or businesses can reprint OERI publications
at minimal cost for distribution to their own membership or
employees.  (Contact:  Tim Burr, 219-1673)

Spanish Publications. Several popular OERI publications have been
translated into Spanish to reach out to a wider audience.  Como
escoger una escuela para su hijo (Choosing a School for Your
Child) is available free from the National Clearinghouse
for Bilingual Education (NCBE), 1118 22nd Street, NW, Washington,
DC, telephone 800-321-6223 (in DC 202-467-0867).   The most
recently translated publication Como ayudar a sus hijos a usar la
biblioteca (Helping Your Child Use the Library) was released in
January and is now available from the NCBE. (Contact:  Tim Burr,
219-1673)

Exhibit Program.  Outreach disseminates OERI publications and
materials through its exhibit program, which is available for
education association conferences and meetings.  We plan to
exhibit, with the Office of Public Affairs, at several major
education and library association conferences in the coming
months, including: the National Association of Elementary School
Principals and the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development, both in New Orleans; the American Educational
Research Association, in San Francisco; and the National School
Boards Association in Orlando.  The Outreach Staff can provide
materials for your association convention upon request.
(Contact:  Kay McKinney, 219-1674)

A new competition for a contract to operate the Women's
Educational Equity Act (WEEA) Publishing Center will be conducted
in FY 92.  The Center provides technical assistance to grantees
who have received funding from the WEEA Program, which is
administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary
Education.  Currently, the Center assists grantees in developing
gender-fair products, oversees their publication, and then
markets the materials to appropriate audiences.  Some recent
publications from the Publishing Center include CREATING
SEX-FAIR FAMILY DAY CARE:  A GUIDE FOR TRAINERS AND BARRIER FREE:
SERVING YOUNG WOMEN WITH DISABILITIES.  (Contact:  Kathy Price,
219-1670)

The OERI-National School Boards Association (NSBA) Study Group
has completed its policy brief on the implications of the
National Education Goals for members of local boards of
education.  The final draft of the report has been submitted and
is being reviewed by the Department of Education and NSBA.
(Contact:  Thelma Leenhouts, 219-1558)

The Leadership in Educational Administration Development (LEAD)
review and processing of continuation awards has been completed
for 49 LEAD Centers entering their sixth year.  (Awards for the
six Insular Area LEAD Centers will be made in June.)  The LEAD
Centers continue to develop innovative training and technical
assistance practices, leadership curricula, and assessment
processes, to contribute to development of improved state and
local policies, and to strengthen statewide coalitions to advance
leadership development and practice.  Newer emphases include
training for superintendents, strategies for marketing project
services, alternative leadership conceptualizations, preservice
reform, and telecommunications for professional support.  The
National LEADership Network, ED's partnership with Kraft General
Foods administered through the Institute for Educational
Leadership (IEL), continues to link the 55 LEAD Centers, regional
educational laboratories, and other groups in collaborative
program development and problem-solving activities.  The network
recently produced publications on restructuring and school
improvement and is about to publish a training manual on
improving access and advancement of women and minorities in
educational administration.  (Contact:  Marshall Sashkin,
219-2120)

The Researcher Training Project is a multi-year program to
prepare minorities for careers in educational research and
development.  Under this program, qualified candidates will be
selected to participate in mentored fellowship or internship
activities that will afford them the opportunity to be placed in
a research setting and to engage in original research and
scholarly writing.  The first grant was awarded in September 1991
to the Southwest Regional Educational Laboratory (SWRL) in Los
Alamitos, California, for $149,956.  SWRL's program will provide
paid internships for up to ten graduate students.  The interns
will receive a paid stipend to help with the cost of completing
their dissertations, enroll in a national Policy Fellowship
Program, and participate in management training activities lead
by SWRL staff.  SWRL will evaluate the project and prepare a
formal report during the fall of 1992.  The next competition will
be held in the spring of 1992.  The estimated award will be
$201,000.  (Contact: Diane Jones, 219-2146)

A Study Group will convene on March 22-24, 1992, on the topic of
Achieving World Class Standards: The Challenge of Educating
Teachers.  Practitioners and policymakers will discuss needed
changes in teacher preparation, certification, and development at
state and local levels necessary to achieve world class
standards.  (Contact:  Barbara Lieb, 219-2187)

The Secretary's Conferences on Improving Mathematics and Science
Education are a series of three gatherings aimed at state
policymakers.  Their common topic is curriculum reform, with a
focus on math and science.  The underlying theme: How can we
achieve world class standards?  With considerable aid from
several other federal agencies and professional associations,
OERI convened the first conference on December 9-10, 1991.  It
examined curriculum frameworks and offered 17 exhibits
demonstrating new teaching in math and science.  The second, on
teacher preparation and instructional materials, will be held in
June 1992.  A final conference on assessment will take place in
late fall 1992.  Ongoing activities-- study groups, publications,
and consultation--will occur between the conferences to link them
and to continue the dialogue.  (Contact:  219-2164)

Regional Educational Laboratories.  The 10 regional educational
laboratories entered the second program year of their current
five year contracts on December 1, 1991.  Overall priorities
under these contracts are to serve the needs of at-risk students
and small rural schools.

An additionkl priority under an interagency agreement with the
Administration on Children, Youth and Families (ACYF) in HHS is
to strengthen the linkages and transition between early childhood
programs and early elementary school.  A highly-acclaimed
national policy forum on this topic was held as part of this
initiative in September, as well as regional meetings conducted
by the laboratories.  A second national policy forum and set of
regional meetings will be held in 1992.  In addition, five of the
laboratories will begin fieldwork to assist and evaluate
promising approaches to strengthening the transition from
preschool to elementary school in this contract year.

The Congress appropriated an additional $4.16 million for the
laboratory program in FY 92.  The additional funds will be used
primarily to strengthen the laboratories' collaborative capacity
to serve the needs of at-risk students in urban,
extreme rural and other particularly needy areas.  (For
information about the laboratory program in general contact:
Charles Stalford, 219-2126; for a copy of the proceedings from
the National Early Childhood Policy Forum contact:  Mary
Ches Applewhite, 219-1523.)

The Rural Education Initiative, begun in 1987, enables the
regional educational laboratories to support rural education
activities in their regions.  The laboratory contract requires
that 30% of the award supports activities for rural schools.
Principal activities of the labs include identification,
development, and dissemination of promising practices in rural
small schools.  The laboratories and OERI staff are collaborating
to develop a major report to Congress on the impact of
the rural initiative on school impr
is planned.  (Contact:  Joyce Stern, 219-2095)

The Network of Colleges and Universities Committed to the
Elimination of Drug and Alcohol Abuse has approximately 1300
member institutions, with endorsements from 18 higher education
associations.  A directory of members, which will include drug
and alcohol resources at the state and national level, was
published in September.  In order for Network members to share
information on their programs, policies, and publications, a
special file has been established in the Higher Education
Clearinghouse of the Educational Resources Information Center
(ERIC).  Materials related to alcohol and other drug abuse that
will be collected from Network member institutions and
disseminated include instructional materials, evaluation studies,
research findings, survey instruments, and conference papers.  A
National Forum on Substance Abuse issues in Higher Education is
held in Washington, DC, annually.  Additionally, twenty-one
regional Networks have been established across the country to
<{support the collaboration of resources on a local level.
(Contact:  Vonnie Veltri, 219-2265)

The Star Schools Program is funded at $18,417,000 for new grants
in FY 92.  Legislative changes have been made that expand the
program. Current and previously funded grantees are eligible to
apply for these funds.  A new grant category will offer funding
for a single statewide two-way video and audio demonstration.
Also, dissemination or technical assistance grants are available
to state and local educational agencies not presently served by
telecommunications partnerships to assist them in planning and
implementing technology-based distance learning systems.
Services also may be extended to adult literacy programs and for
the training of early childhood professionals.  A contract for
the evaluation of the Star Schools Program will be awarded this
year.  Applications for the FY 92 grants will be available after
May 15, 1992.  (Contact: Frank B. Withrow, 219-2200)

Members of the OERI Urban Superintendents' Network, together with
key community and school leaders from their districts, met in
Washington, DC, on January 29-31, 1992, to focus on the theme of
building community collaboration and commitment for urban
education initiatives.  Participants included superintendents
from thirteen urban districts as well as school board presidents,
business leaders, city government representatives, community
agency directors, parents, teachers, principals, and other
administrators.  Team members had opportunities to meet together,
with other district teams, and with Department staff and other
resource people around issues of common concern, and developed
concrete action plans to take back to their districts.  Two
recent publications of the Network include COLLABORATION TO BUILD
COMPETENCE: THE URBAN SUPERINTENDENTS' PERSPECTIVE (available
from GPO; see "Publications") and URBAN SUPERINTENDENT TURNOVER:
THE NEED FOR STABILITY (available from the ERIC Clearinghouse on
Educational Management, 1787 Agate Street, Eugene, OR  97403,
503-346-5043.  (Contact:  Mary Campbell, 219-2130)

The School-Linked Integration of Services for At-Risk Children
and their Families activity is a collaboration between the OERI
and the Department of Health and Human Services.  The overriding
purpose of this activity is to develop a guidebook to assist
communities interested in designing integrated services programs
linked to a school.  Services integration is an approach to
<{improving the lives of at-risk children by bringing together a
range of education, health, and social services to create a
comprehensive system for child and family assessment, service
<{delivery, and follow-up monitoring.

A study group of 25 individuals primarily with hands-on
experience in developing and working with school-linked
integrated services programs have met twice in Washington, D.l.,
to reflect on their experiences and provide practical ideas and
advice on the best ways to develop school-linked integrated
service programs.  A third meeting is planned for March 25-27
when the study group will review the first draft of the
guidebook.  A companion video will also be developed.  (Contact:
Susan Talley, 219-2129 or Carol Mitchell, 219-2128)

The Ready to Learn Project will produce and disseminate products
to assist parents in preparing their children to enter school.
The project has a task force of experts in early childhood
development and dissemination who met in Washington in April and
October 1991.  A research synthesis and an inventory of currently
existing, effective readiness materials were completed in 1991.
New print and non-print materials for parents to use with their
children to ready them for school are expected to be developed
during FY 92.  (Contact:  Nancy Paulu, 219-2119)
The Educational Partnerships Program, with a FY 92 budget of
$4,233,000, has funded, since its inception, 22 partnerships
projects in 16 states.  These 3-4 year projects include school
districts, universities, museums, non-profit organizations,
community and social service agencies, parents' organizations,
and state education agencies, each project working with a variety
of partners.  A five year external evaluation and documentation
study of the partnership grants has also been awarded to the
Southwest Regional Laboratory in Los Alamitos, California, and
its subcontractor, the Institute for Educational Leadership.
OERI will be conducting a two-year competition in 1992.  It is
anticipated that 3-5 new four-year projects will be awarded in FY
92 and an additional 3-5 new awards will be made in FY 93.
Approximately one million dollars each fiscal year will be
available for new awards.  Proposed regulations were published
November 22, 1991, in the Federal Register.  Final regulations
and the closing date notice announcing an absolute priority will
be published in the Federal Register in March.  Applications are
expected to be available in March with a projected deadline in
May 1992.  (Contact:  Sue Gruskin, 219-2132)

Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program
awarded 28 grants in FY 1989 and 13 grants in FY 1990 to support
gifted and talented education at the elementary and secondary
levels.  The majority of the projects identify and serve groups
that are traditionally under-represented in gifted and talented
education, particularly economically disadvantaged youngsters,
limited English-proficient students and handicapped students.
Two contracts in K-8 curriculum have been awarded, one in science
<{and one in language arts.  These projects look at high level
curriculum in each subject area.  A number of national leadership
activities are underway to consider the current state of gifted
and talented education in the reform and restructuring movement,
and to make recommendations on the direction the Federal effort
should take in the future.  Information from the leadership
activities will be synthesized and considered in developing
recommendations for a national report on the status of gifted
education.  The report is scheduled for publication in 1992.
(Contact:  Pat O'Connell Ross, 219-2169)

The Blue Ribbon Schools Program, the Department's national school
recognition program for public and private elementary and
secondary schools, has been revived.  Congress failed to provide
support for the elementary program in FY 92.  However, Secretary
of Education Lamar Alexander, after consultation with Congress,
reallocated money from the AMERICA 2000 account.  Because those
funds will not be available until July 1992, the elementary
recognition program for the 477 schools nominated in December
1991 will continue on an adjusted schedule.  Site visits will be
conducted in the fall of 1992; schools will be selected for
recognition in December 1992; and the Washington ceremony
will take place in early 1993.  The 1992-93 Blue Ribbon Schools
Program that will recognize secondary schools will follow the
usual schedule, including a May 1992 announcement and a September
1993 Washington ceremony.  (Contact:  Stephen O'Brien, 219-2141)

The fifth year of the Drug-Free School Recognition Program was
announced in February 1992.  Because of a delayed start, this
<{year's program will operate on a condensed schedule, with
nominations due to the Department by April 6, 1992, and decisions
on schools to be recognized announced by July 1, 1992.  The
recognition ceremony will be held in Washington, DC, in the fall
of 1992.  (Contact:  James Better, 219-2144)

The National Diffusion Network (NDN) just completed its annual
<{conference, with Assistant Secretary Diane Ravitch challenging
the group to become key players in a comprehensive national
dissemination system.

The NDN is planning for the receipt and review of continuation
applications for 60 Developer Demonstrators, two Dissemination
Process Projects, five State Facilitators, and the Private School
Facilitator Project.  Planning also continues for the State

Developer Demonstrator Projects competition(;hwhich closes on
April 10; and the new Dissemination Process Projects competition,
which closes on May 29.  (Contact:  Linda Jones, 219-2153)

PUBLICATIONS

Collaboration To Build Competence: The Urban Superintendents'
Perspective.  Developed by the OERI Urban Superintendents'
Network, this book looks at ho<
provide integrated, comprehensive services through
school-community partnerships to meet the needs of at-risk
students.  Released in December 1991, it is available for $4.00
from Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing
Office, Washington, DC 20402-9325, stock #065-000-00475-5.
(Contact:  Mary Campbell, 219-2130)

Publications for Parents.  Revised in January, this handy
reference booklet offers short descriptions and ordering
information for 11 booklets and brochures specifically for
parents.  Camera copy of this booklet is also available.
(Contact: Kathy Price, 219-1670)
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU