The history of schooling is a mix of constancy and change in policies, organizational structures, school practices, and classroom pedagogy. Over the last century and a half, well-intentioned and serious reformers, using Federal, state, and local policies, tirelessly and repeatedly tried to improve schooling. Classroom and school practices such as…

A group of three conference papers, all dealing with ways to improve teacher effectiveness, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Improving Teacher Effectiveness" (Twyla Stewart), describes the efforts of the Center for Academic Interinstitutional Programs at the University of California, Los Angeles. The program focuses on…

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.…

Two conference papers describing various collaborative arrangements within the educational community among teachers, students and others are presented in this document. The first paper, "Successful Collaborations" (Eugene Cota-Robles), describes the following projects in California that seek to forge collaborations to improve the…

A group of three conference papers, all describing successful methods of preparing students for succeeding at the postsecondary level, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Educational Pathways that Promote Student Success at the Postsecondary Level" (Lester W. Jones), discusses a program established at Xavier University--a…

The unique needs of the educationally disadvantaged cannot be effectively addressed by educational reforms of a general nature. Approximately 30 percent of all elementary and secondary students in 1982 were economically, linguistically, and/or culturally disadvantaged. Their number and their degree of disadvantage has been increasing rapidly due…

A group of three conference papers, all addressing the subject of effective programs to decrease the number of school dropouts, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Systemic Approaches to Reducing Dropouts" (Michael Timpane), asserts that dropping out is a symptom of failures in the social, economic, and educational systems.…

Describes 11 effective steps taken by the Duval County (Florida) school board to improve the academic achievement of minority students, as measured by the Stanford Achievement Test. Programs include eliminating social promotion, developing tests of essential skills and minimum skills, involving the family, and helping with personal problems. (IW)

A group of three conference papers, all addressing effective instructional programs, is presented in this document. The first paper, entitled "The Organization--A Viable Instrument for Progress" (Barbara Sizemore), addresses the subject of high-achieving, predominantly black elementary schools. Routines in these schools not present in…

A group of three brief conference papers, all concerned with methods to help Limited English Proficient (LEP) students succeed, is presented in this document. The first paper, "Integrated Content Language Approach" (Jose Galvan), suggests that LEP students who are at the intermediate level or beyond will benefit from programs integrating…

Immigrant children face serious problems in gaining access to a free public education. Many schools discourage immigrant children from enrolling; once inside the schoolhouse, these children continue to experience barriers to a comprehensive and effective education. Immigrant students lack the quality language assistance programs they need to…

In 1986 the National Governors' Association defined the following areas of educational policy targeted for improvement: (1) leadership and management; (2) teaching; (3) parent involvement and choice; (4) readiness; (5) technology; (6) school facilities; and (7) college quality. In addition to profiling new state initiatives in each of these seven…

The three conference papers presented in this document are grouped under the general heading, "Our National Dilemma," and deal with issues involved in providing disadvantaged students with a quality education. The first paper, "Building Quality Relationships" (James Comer), discusses the need to improve the quality of…

A report from the 1988 Aspen Institute Conference reports that Hispanic youth are more likely to work at full-time jobs and are slightly more likely to work year-round than either Blacks or Whites, regardless of gender or age. But although jobs are available and Hispanics want to work, fundamental changes in the nature of the economy, low wage…

The conference reported in this document sought to do the following: (1) focus attention on the problem of underachieving minority students, and issue a call for action to improve their educational achievement; (2) promote dialogue on promising practices aimed at solving the problem; (3) foster collaboration on solutions among practitioners,…