Decades of research show that quality pre-kindergarten programs can make a critical difference in children's school readiness and their future educational success. Investments in early learning are proven to yield important short- and long-term benefits for students and school districts. Driven by this strong evidence, the movement to expand…

Summer job programs for youth, including Federal programs and private-public partnerships, have come, over the years, to emphasize either short-term or long-term goals. Short-term goals include providing summer activity to the largest possible number of teens, providing income to economically disadvantaged youth, and providing structured work…

Indiana's youth workers are highly motivated, well-educated, experienced, and satisfied with their jobs. They cite these three top challenges of their jobs: funds, family support, and sufficient staff to share time-consuming duties. Researchers cite these key components to develop first-rate programs that meet youth needs: low staff-student ratio,…

This report explores the potential for and obstacles to comprehensive community-level approaches to preparing young people for occupational and academic advancement. Chapter I introduces the New Workforce strategy based on a pathways design and a community framework and strategic plan. Chapter II includes the following: overview of the shaping of…

This article discusses national, state, and local youth service, noting the initiatives of 1984-5, the association of national youth services with the military draft, some keys to deriving maximum value from youth service initiatives, and the outcomes that can be anticipated from a youth service program. (DCS)

This curriculum guide is intended for educators who want to help young people become wise stewards of the environment and who believe that education about energy is an opportunity to achieve that goal. This guide aims to help educators in the curriculum planning process. This guide furnishes a visual overview of resources in chart format.…

Sustainability is a critical issue for the vast array of community initiatives that promote healthy children, strong families, and safe communities. Noting that sustaining an initiative over time requires maintaining sufficient fiscal resources as well as a combination of nonfiscal resources from the initiative itself and the broader community,…

Young people can be, and must be, partners in community drug prevention efforts. This book discusses teen successes in drug prevention, telling how and where it is happening and how to make it happen in the community. Teens are shown forging vital partnerships with schools, law enforcement, community agencies, and others. The focus is on…

This report is designed to assist communities engaged in or contemplating initiatives focused on at-risk youth. Much of the information comes from evaluations of the Communities in Schools, SafeFeatures, and Children at Risk initiatives. Brief descriptions of experiences or practices of the community programs are used to illustrate points made or…

This document is the first volume of a two-volume resource guide to help states and localities take advantage of new Federal initiatives to increase services to youth under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). It summarizes the performance management principles and options available to program administrators identified in discussion papers…

This document comprises the second volume of a two-volume resource guide to help states and localities take advantage of new Federal initiatives to increase services to youth under the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA). This volume comprises the discussion papers that formed the basis for the options summarized in the first volume. The papers…

Featuring the Teens, Crime, and Community (TCC) program, this monograph focuses on youth crime and crime prevention in rural settings. TCC actively involves teens and adults in a partnership designed to reduce teen victimization and to encourage teens to be catalysts of change for community safety. The guide provides teachers, administrators, and…

This seven-chapter report explores in depth how issues relating to race, language, and culture can be incorporated into every stage of a reform process targeting supports to disadvantaged children and families. The report draws on 1993 research involving a survey of 98 collaborative programs in California, site visits to seven collaborative…

This report includes the background papers developed for an invitational workshop on mental health program development for minority youth and their families, and a summary of the recommendations made and actions to be taken. Section I presents an overall framework and an overview of the issues that were explored in greater depth at the workshop.…

Asserts that social and economic changes have weakened the essential ideals of kibbutz education. Previously these ideals facilitated a prosocial orientation, emotional moderation, and a strong sense of belonging. Although modern changes may be incompatible with traditional kibbutz education, they serve the current generation's emotional needs.…