This project, whose history has been reviewed on previous pages, has been a labor of professional commitment and love for all involved. It should be noted that everyone contacted and asked to be involved in this project responded positively, and without hesitation. It should also be noted that those contacted were instrumental in extending invitations to colleagues who also responded without hesitation. Thus, the "team" was assembled and began work in the Summer of 1997.

Initially, there were 30 members in the planning group, representing all grade levels. The initial work was to achieve definitions, design the conceptual framework for the project, and identify contributors. Calls were made to additional contributors, resulting in 44÷ educators contributing. Their names are listed on the following pages. The project was efficiently organized to produce, in three intensive days of work at Rhode Island College, the initial lesson exemplars. We are grateful to the College for the use of their technology labs and expertise in helping contributors complete their respectively formatted lessons for incorporation into the Handbook.

Contributors worked between June, 1997 and January, 1998 on design, development, and piloting of exemplar lessons. Between January and February 1998, the contributors worked to re-design their creative "works in progress" on their lesson exemplars incorporating them into a framework provided on previously formatted 3.5 disks for ease of incorporation of the various lesson styles into a common format. This was an enormous undertaking, requiring some members to learn the use of new software programs, and to spend many hours in the technology labs at RIC, and/or working on computers in other locations. All contributors worked with enthusiasm, energy, and a sense of pride in the accomplishment of the goals of this project. Indeed, it was a true pleasure to work with such a fine group of professional colleagues. The Co-Directors sincerely and heartily thank them all for such a fine product. The result of their expertise and efforts is presented in this Handbook: over 100 completed lessons that provide examples to educators at all levels, and across content areas, of how gender issues can be addressed in the classrooms of Rhode Island.

In March 1998, excerpts from the Handbook were presented to the Educators Colloquium, while on-going work of editing continued through the summer of 1998, due to technical/logistical delays. Special thanks go to Freda Goldman for her special insights and advice. A special note of thanks also goes to Jan Evonska, Secretary in the Dept. of Educational Studies, and to the Rhode Island College students in the teacher preparation programs, and especially to Mark Maziarz, whose technical assistance and efficiency are more than greatly appreciated.

The Handbook was printed through Rhode Island College in December/January, 1998-1999. Special thanks to Dr. Richard Keogh, Director of Grants and Research, and to Ken Coulbourn, Director, and Rene Perreault, Jr., Assistant Director in the Office Services Department, and to Charles Allsworth in Publishing Services for their special attention and ready help.

With revisions on-going, the Handbook remains the dynamic "work in progress" that it was planned to be as it moves to distribution in the late Spring of 1999.