Academic achievement in the nation's lowest performing schools is troubling. Despite improvements in students' overall academic achievement over the past few decades, proficiency gaps in reading and mathematics remain across income, racial, and ethnic groups. One promising strategy for reducing achievement gaps is to expand the school day, often…

Out-of-school time programs are well-positioned to enhance students' Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) skills, increase their interest in STEM fields, and increase their engagement in learning overall. In its 2011 Request for Proposals (RFP) for Out-of-School Time (OST) programs for youth in the elementary and middle grades, the…

Elementary charter schools increasingly serve students who are at-risk for reading challenges, giving them a critical role in establishing literacy for young children. This article examines the complexities of starting early childhood literacy programs in charter schools. Specifically, the first year of K-3 literacy programs in a new and a…

This report presents early implementation and operational lessons from the Supporting Healthy Marriage (SHM) evaluation. Funded by the Administration for Children and Families, SHM uses a rigorous research design to test the effectiveness of a new approach to improving outcomes for low-income children: strengthening the marriages and relationships…

In 2006 4-H National Headquarters at the U.S. Department of Agriculture and National 4-H Council introduced a new initiative aimed at increasing the number and quality of science, engineering, and technology programs that 4-H offers around the country, and increasing the number of youth involved in these programs. By engaging youth in informal…

Teaching entrepreneurship--how to create, grow and run a business or organization--is one potential means to increase college and career readiness skills. Learning how to start a business can improve critical thinking, communication and collaboration (Gallagher, Stepien, & Rosenthal, 1992; Hmelo, 1998), which are key qualities for academic as…

In September 2005, the New York City Department of Youth and Community Development (DYCD) launched the Out-of-School Time Programs for Youth (OST) initiative to provide young people throughout New York City with access to high-quality programming after school, on holidays, and during the summer at no cost to their families. Working closely with…

Partnerships, especially the Professional Development School (PDS) model, between institutions of higher education (IHE) and public schools (PS), have become, if not commonplace, a successful model for teacher education. PDS teacher education projects in which preservice teachers and higher education faculty participate in school-based instruction…

The purpose of this paper is to describe the implementation of a school-based trauma-specific mental health program in New York City following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. This program aimed to serve children most at risk for developing mental health problems as a result of physical proximity (e.g., evacuation from schools…

The entire staff of one New York elementary school was trained in Developmental Activities Project to understand how students develop logical thinking, how to assess each student's developmental level, and how to create an appropriate learning environment. DAP is based on Piaget's 46 concrete mental structures, including classification, relations,…

School-to-work (STW) activities were described by 1257 K-12 teachers and 22 administrators in the Oswego County (New York) school system. More school-based than work-based activities were used. Few teachers felt knowledgeable about STW; lack of training and time were barriers. Administrators consistently underestimated the extent of STW…

The Multimedia and Literature Teaching and Learning project was initiated to explore the potential of multimedia and hypermedia for supporting the response-based teaching and learning of literature. The project's initial phase involved developing criteria for considering hypermedia from a response-based perspective and then applying these to a…

A pilot study describes the prototype design and classroom implementation of "Kid's Space," a response-based multimedia application for literature teaching and learning. "Kid's Space" was designed around the metaphor of a universe populated by the individual student's world. Each world supports a variety of personal spaces in…

The summer reading program of the New York State Library is intended to assist youth in increasing their intellectual base by broadening their backgrounds through reading during the summer. The 1992 "New York is Reading Country" theme is intended to add a few more layers to what students already know about the state and to be helpful in…

This guide is designed to assist administrators in planning and implementing strategies to eliminate sex bias, sex stereotyping, and sex discrimination in occupational education programs in New York State where such exist. Discussed first are the provisions of the Vocational Education Amendments of 1976 and Title IX of the Education Amendments of…