This guidance report offers early years professionals seven practical evidence-based recommendations to provide every child--but particularly those from disadvantaged homes--with a high quality and well-rounded grounding in early literacy, language and communication. One recommendation focuses on the importance of high quality interactions between…

The field of special education, and specifically the area of intellectual disabilities, has undergone dramatic changes in terminology, evaluation practices, service delivery models, expectations for learning, career development, and independent living opportunities. "Guidelines: Intellectual Disabilities in Educational Settings" is…

Early childhood mathematics is vitally important for young children's present and future educational success. Research demonstrates that virtually all young children have the capability to learn and become competent in mathematics. Furthermore, young children enjoy their early informal experiences with mathematics. Unfortunately, many children's…

For too long, educators' approach to understanding the relationships between poverty, class and education has been framed by studying the behaviors and cultures of poor students and their families. If only people--in the middle and upper-middle classes--can understand "their" culture, why "those people" do not value education, why "those parents"…

The trends are clear--a high school education is no longer adequate to prepare young people for the rapidly changing information economy of the 21st century. According to the U.S. Department of Labor (2009), approximately 65 percent of the fastest growing jobs today require at least some form of postsecondary education. If the United States is to…

"Good Schools in Poor Neighborhoods" contrasts highly effective schools serving urban, low-income, minority youth with their more typical, struggling counterparts. Highlighted are two disparate schools: one serving predominately African American students in a large northeastern city and one serving Latino students in a southwestern urban area.…

A "Discovery Program" implemented in 1989 to help underprivileged gifted and talented students in Israel advance in their chosen fields is described. The importance of local administration and participation is stressed, as are optimal ratios of underprivileged to privileged youth for maximum benefit to all. (PB)

Discusses the national trend toward full-day kindergarten scheduling and a 2-year experiment involving alternate-day and half-day programs in Pasco, Washington. Early findings show no significant differences in children's achievement, classroom study habits, or social skills. Poor and minority children benefit from increased conversational…

Describes the Archdiocese of Chicago's Sharing program, in which affluent parishes link up with their poorer counterparts to form friendships, solve problems, and overcome the anonymity of charitable work. Reveals outcomes including the annual sharing of $2 million among parishes. Offers examples of parish-to-parish support and suggestions for…

The National Governors' Association Task Force on Technology decided that schools have not generally become more productive through use of technology. Key recommendations center on encouraging educational technology demonstrations in schools, sponsoring research and development, supporting the creation of marketing mechanisms, and encouraging…

Serious concerns are being raised by the poor and uneducated underclass in the United States. Four main points are given which expand upon these concerns. (1) The affluent and middle class white U.S. population does not have enough interest and commitment to the poor and undereducated population to pay the price it will take to educate the U.S.…

Faults Lawrence J. Schweinhart and David P. Weikert's article in this "Educational Leadership" issue for concluding that disadvantaged preschoolers taught by direct instruction have twice the teenage delinquency rate of children experiencing the High/Scope program. Accuses the authors of exaggerating statistical differences, research…

This article describes an ongoing support program in a Head Start program for grandparents who are serving as the primary caretakers of their grandchildren. Information is provided on the program's purpose and goals, the grandparents who attend, how meetings are run, experiences and incidental learning, and the progression of the group. (DB)

This report profiles the issue of youth violence: the history of its appearance in U.S. culture, the recent escalation of gang activity in U.S. communities, and the strategies put forth in smaller cities to meet this challenge. The report notes that there has been an explosion of gang violence in the United States that has been fostered by a…

A program was developed to provide single parents who were without marketable skills with the training or retraining necessary to secure and keep a job in the health care field. During the course of the project, 31 trainees between the ages of 21 and 60 who were living below the poverty level were recruited into the program. They received…