Foreword

This booklet is the 20th in a series of "hot topic" reports produced by the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. These reports briefly address current educational concerns and issues as indicated by requests for information that come to the Laboratory from the Northwest region and beyond. Each booklet contains a discussion of research and literature pertinent to the issue.

One objective of the series is to foster a sense of community and connection among educators. Another is to increase awareness of current education-related themes and concerns. Each booklet gives practitioners a glimpse of how fellow educators are addressing issues, overcoming obstacles, and attaining success in certain areas. The goal of the series is to give educators current, reliable, and useful information on topics that are important to them.

• Service Learning in the Northwest Region
• Tutoring: Strategies for Successful Learning
• Scheduling Alternatives: Options for Student Success
• Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where?
• Alternative Schools: Approaches for Students at Risk
• All Students Learning: Making It Happen in Your School
• High-Quality Professional Development: An Essential Component of Successful Schools
• Student Mentoring
• Peaceful Schools
• After-School Programs: Good for Kids, Good for Communities
• Parent Partners: Using Parents To Enhance Education
• When Students Don’t Succeed: Shedding Light on Grade Retention
• Making Positive Connections With Homeschoolers
• Increasing Student Motivation and Engagement: From Time-on-Task to Homework
• The Power of Public Relations in Schools
• Supporting Beginning Teachers: How Administrators, Teachers, and Policymakers Can Help New Teachers Succeed
• Technology in Early Childhood Education: Finding the Balance
• Schoolwide Prevention of Bullying
• Working Together for Successful Paraeducator Services