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Teacher education programs are always evolving. To provide opportunities for pre-service teachers to combine pedagogy with practical experience, many programs are developing school-university partnerships. The pairing of pre-service teachers with experienced mentor teachers offers enriched field experience opportunities. The effect of the partnership on mentor teachers, university faculty, and pre-service teachers has been researched, but the role of the principal in the partnership has not been closely examined. Supportive principals provide leadership in many areas within the context of the partnership. Partnerships formed in professional development schools may mature over time, but initially, the tone of the partnership is dependent on the leadership and support of the school administrator. The principal influences placements of candidates, mentor teachers' participation, partnership activities, and the depth of the partnership bond. The contributions of a school administrator principal are incalculable.

Despite decades of research documenting the consequences of naturalized and invasive plant species on ecosystem functions, our understanding of the functional underpinnings of these changes remains rudimentary. This is partially due to ineffective scaling of trait differences between native and naturalized species to whole plant communities. Working with data from over 75,000 plots and over 5,500 species from across the United States, we show that changes in the functional composition of communities associated with increasing abundance of naturalized species mirror the differences in traits between native and naturalized plants. We find that communities with greater abundance of naturalized species are more resource acquisitive aboveground and belowground, shorter, more shallowly rooted, and increasingly aligned with an independent strategy for belowground resource acquisition via thin fine roots with high specific root length. We observe shifts toward herbaceous-dominated communities but shifts within both woody and herbaceous functional groups follow community-level patterns for most traits. Patterns are remarkably similar across desert, grassland, and forest ecosystems. Our results demonstrate that the establishment and spread of naturalized species, likely in combination with underlying environmental shifts, leads to predictable and consistent changes in community-level traits that can alter ecosystem functions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a diagnostic intervention (Bowles, Churchill, Effrat, & McDermott, 2002) for schools failing to meet school improvement goals, Kentucky used a scholastic audit process based on nine standards and 88 associated indicators called the Standards and Indicators for School Improvement (SISI). Schools are rated on a scale of 1-4 on each indicator, with a score of 3 considered as fully functional (Kentucky Department of Education [KDE], 2002). As part of enacting the legislation, KDE was required to also audit a random sample of schools that did meet school improvement goals; thereby identifying practices present in improving schools that are not present in those failing to improve. These practices were referred to as variance points, and were reported to school leaders annually. Variance points have differed from year to year, and the methodology used by KDE was unclear. Moreover, variance points were reported for all schools without differentiating based upon the level of school (elementary, middle, or high). In this study, we established a transparent methodology for variance point determination that differentiates between elementary, middle, and high schools. (Contains 5 tables and 1 figure.)

There have been several proposals to the effect that special service decisions could be based, at least in part, on the construct of response to intervention and not necessarily on traditional child measures. Single-case designs that focus on intervention response and intensity are reviewed as a potential evaluation framework for interdisciplinary teams to help answer special services resource questions. Increasing-intensity designs are based on sequential intervention trials ordered on a continuum that builds in intensity. Decreasing-intensity designs start with more comprehensive or multicomponent interventions and intervention facets that are systematically withdrawn so that interventions become more natural and ecologically sustainable. The advantages and challenges associated with these designs for use in special education eligibility decisions are discussed as models for child evaluation in schools.