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This report presents information on Troops to Teachers (TTT), a Washington state program designed to help former military personnel enter public education as teachers. Since the inception of the program in 1994, nearly 3,000 service members have made the transition. A 45-item survey was completed by 1,171 TTT participants in 1998 used to examine the TTT program. The survey looked at demographics, military experience, reasons for teaching, satisfaction with teaching, improving the educational system, student learning, professional development, professionalizing teaching, and planning for the future. Data were compared to data from non-TTT teachers studied through the National Center for Education Information. Results indicated that TTT has been successful in producing quality teachers in high demand areas (more men and minorities with experience beneficial to successful teaching in mathematics, science, and special education in inner cities and outlying rural areas). TTT favors higher standards for students and stricter graduation requirements. Half the TTT teachers entered teaching through alternative teacher preparation and certification programs. The main differences between TTT and non-TTT teachers were in their attitudes about how to make teaching more of a true profession. An appendix presents the survey methodology. (SM)

The national supply of teachers has risen to meet the demand, largely because of the growing interest in alternative programs of teacher preparation. An overview is given of alternative teacher certification that has allowed many districts, especially large urban districts, to fill their vacancies. (SLD)

This report examines the current status of federal and state involvement in educational personnel development. First, it describes the federal legislative process, and offers a list of members of Congressional committees dealing with education legislation. Next, it analyzes involvement of the U.S. Office of Education and of individual states in staff development. The analysis includes the results of a survey of current state activity in professional development, with emphasis on authority, funding, and state plans. The report concludes with a list of professional associations and organizations actively involved in educational personnel development, as well as a list of educational laboratories, dissemination networks, and foundations that provide resources for the professional development of educational personnel. (Author/LD)

This document presents a comprehensive picture of educational personnel development. In addition to updating Federal and state involvement in educational development, the report begins with a history of professional development of teachers and ends with an analysis of research on teacher education. It is divided into the following major sections: (1) current federal involvement in educational personnel development; (2) federal funding for educational personnel development, which includes a description of 43 Department of Education programs; and (3) current state involvement in educational personnel development. (JD)

A demographic profile of America's children in 1985 is presented in this report. The report's six chapters discuss the relationships between students' performance in school and the following variables: students' socioeconomic backgrounds (Chapter 1); population change in the United States, with special attention to children under 5, many of whom have already started school (Chapter 2); the changing family structure, whom children live with, and where they come from (Chapter 3); poverty levels and the rapidly growing number of children living in poverty (Chapter 4); the relationship between education and earning power (Chapter 5); and, finally, trends in enrollment in public and private schools (Chapter 6). The report ends with a section of summary and conclusions, as well as the following recommendations: (1) redefine the qualities necessary in candidates to become school teachers; (2) retrain current teachers to prepare them better for coping with today's students; (3) put the American public back into public education; (4) insist that school administrators be competent managers as well as educators; and (5) rally the entire society behind an all-out campaign to improve schools. Eighteen state-by-state tables are included in the appendix; these illustrate recent development within individual states in such areas as enrollment, per pupil expenditures, per capita income, numbers of teachers, average salaries of teachers, and minority and private school enrollments. (KH)