Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without the significant contributions of some key NCREL staff and some critical external friends. Bill Quinn and Arie van der Ploeg were instrumental in the original design and review of research for this document. Carol McElvain, Ray Legler, and Chris Otto transformed this project from several separate research papers into a coherent whole. Jim Ward from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Neil Theobald from Indiana University, and Paul Kimmelman, former superintendent of Illinois School District 31, all provided ongoing external reviews of the substance and content of the research studies included in this project. Finally, we express our gratitude to the many contributors to this volume for having worked under pressure to meet incredibly short deadlines.
In addition, we would like to acknowledge the contributions of the following NCREL staff members:
Gina Burkhardt, executive director
Sabrina W. M. Laine, project director
Stephanie Blaser, production coordinator
Melissa Chapko, graphic designer
Lenaya Raack, editor
Jennifer Lee Atkin, editor
