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The monograph describes Project INTERFACE, a 2-year collaborative effort among the Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) of Nassau County (New York), Long Island University, and three local school districts. The project identified the "most effective" implementation strategies for integrating microcomputer instruction into ongoing educational services for the handicapped and then analyzed descriptive documentation of "most effective practices" as they existed in BOCES and local school districts. Analysis of rating scales completed by 25 experts in microcomputer education and special education found that more than 70% of the experts identified the following issues as important for effective microcomputer implementation: a formal needs assessment coupled with long- and short-range goals and a written philosophy/policy statement; specific budgetary allocations with incremental increases; systematic evaluation of all aspects of the microcomputer program; a districtwide coordinator position for microcomputer/special education; definite maintenance contracts and policies; consistent information dissemination; a districtwide committee for the review of hardware; separate computers used for instructional and administrative functions; a committee to review and select software; computer literacy incentives for teachers; inservice training. (DB)

The final report describes the objectives and accomplishments of Project COMPETE, a 3-year project in New York State whose purpose was to develop secondary and transitional postsecondary programming for training youth with severe disabilities in skills necessary to achieve a successful transition from school to vocational opportunities in their communities. The project developed programming to meet the future needs of a target population of 290 severely disabled youth (ages 18-21) in vocational, domestic, recreation/leisure, and community functioning. The project also provided education to 36 teachers, 13 paraprofessionals, and parents of 71 transition-age students. A summer pilot program provided training in transition skills to 10 transition-age students, six of whom were provided on-the-job employment training. Job coaches provided on-the-job training, travel training, and follow-up support to an additional 61 students who were placed in competitive employment at the minimum wage. A support and advocacy program involving schools, agencies, employers, and parents was established. The project effected an increase in the number of students placed in employment after graduation/aging out, and an increase in the number of students who received follow-up support and intervention while on the job. (Twenty-eight data tables are included, and appendices provide a job coach training outline, job analysis, assessment and job/student match instruments, and a list of dissemination activities.) (Author/JW)

Efforts by Nassau County, New York educators in the development, implementation, and evaluation of a replicable program for 2,500 special education students and their teachers in a comprehensive outdoor education program are described. Three major components of the project are listed as: (1) active student participation in activity-oriented interdisciplinary Homestead Ecology Program; (2) development and use of multi-media special education/homestead ecology curriculum materials; and (3) in-service training of special education teachers in outdoor education/homestead ecology. The groups served are identified as: emotionally disturbed; learning disabled; deaf/multi-handicapped; trainable mentally retarded; physically handicapped; and neurologically handicapped. Discussions are included on the pilot program which began in the Spring of 1979, and on the student, curriculum, and teacher components of the project itself, which was carried out from July 1, 1979 to June 30, 1980. Evaluations of the different components indicate that all students benefited from the program, with different groups of students showing growth in different skills. Teachers expressed positive assessments of all components of the program. (JD)

Support for Innovative Teacher Projects was a 12-month program implemented by the Board of Cooperative Education Services (BOCES) of Nassau County, New York, designed to encourage and assist teachers in developing innovative projects in priority areas and in applying for funding. In collaboration with a university school of education, the project developed professional procedures for applying for support and objective criteria for selection of projects to be supported. Priority areas for teacher projects were identified as curriculum development, inservice development, contribution to teaching, cost effective programs, and community involvement. This report provides information on the project's background and accomplishments, with discussion of project components which included a five-member teacher committee responsible for the following: (1) acting as liaison between project staff and building teachers and administrators; (2) planning professional procedures; and (3) selecting teacher proposals for further consideration in the process. Evaluation of the project is addressed through establishment of evaluation criteria and surveys regarding teacher interest and collaboration. Implementation and dissemination strategies are discussed. Recommendations for program improvement and continuance deal with such topics as: (1) financial support for projects; (2) role of the teacher committee; and (3) encouraging wider teacher participation. (CB)