There is a need for outreach programs to attract a diverse range of students to the computing discipline. The lack of qualified computing graduates to fill the growing number of computing vacancies is of concern to government and industry and there are few female students entering the computing pipeline at high school level. This paper presents…

Non-formal learning for urban youth has a long history in the United States; it remains a source of innovation. This essay draws on literature about organizations that use community ties to encourage cognitive development and identity formation. It then describes how one youth organization in Camden, New Jersey uses presentations to the community…

All schools can benefit from giving students the option of online learning, but for many rural schools, online learning is a lifeline. In the past two years, Lane Education Service District in Oregon, USA, has developed online resources for 14 Lane County school districts, which vary in size from 170 students to as many as 17,000. Many of the…

Health literacy, the ability to obtain and understand information and services to make good health decisions, has received much attention recently. Literacy is a stronger predictor of health status than age, income, race, ethnicity, employment status, or educational level. Inadequate health literacy costs the United States an estimated $100-$236…

University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) and Khujand branch of the Technological University of Tajikistan (KbTUT) collaborated on the development of an Extension/outreach program in Tajikistan. Fifteen KbTUT administrators, faculty, and students from textiles, food science, and management engaged in training sessions at UNL on entrepreneurship, adult…

Interested in bringing the benefits of the arts as integral to quality education for all children, in 2004 the Ford Foundation launched the National Arts Education Initiative, a seven-year demonstration in nine communities across the United States. Building from arts education programs that serve "pockets" of children, Ford investments…

Throughout the world, the demand for higher education is increasing exponentially, pushed forward by the realities of a global economy and accompanied by pressure to open up opportunities for prospective students from all backgrounds. The importance of a knowledgeable, highly skilled population has become clear and many countries have made great…

Co-author of the popular titles "Booktalking Bonanza" and "The Early Literacy Kit", Betsy Diamant-Cohen brings together 18 examples of successful outreach partnerships that children's librarians and administrators can adapt to their own situations. Contributors from the U.S and Canada explain how they partnered with schools,…

Despite recent progress, college attendance rates of Latino students continue to lag behind those of White students in the United States. Research suggests that outreach programs designed to increase the college knowledge of Latino students and families hold promise for reducing the observed discrepancy. Based on participant observer methods, this…

This document includes the text of presentations given at the First Binational Conference on Libraries in California and Baja California, as well as minutes from four roundtables held at the conference. Following a prologue and a brief background on the conference, the following presentations are included: (1) "State Support for Public…

During the summer and on weekends, it is not unusual to see many children, the youngest holding their parents' hands, walking to classes amongst the beautiful landscaping and old buildings of Northwestern University on Lake Michigan's shores in Evanston, Illinois. The Center for Talent Development (CTD) has been offering services and programs to…

Conference papers are presented from a meeting that was convened in order to provide an opportunity for practitioners and experts in the fields of literacy, English as a Second Language (ESL), and parental involvement to discuss issues of importance in the implementation of educational programs for adults and out-of-school youth. The conference…

In this speech the author discusses Project Chance: Alternatives for Women. The innovative community-based program in New York City was designed to meet the special needs of adult women whose education has been interrupted. The first half of the presentation briefly describes varied aspects of the program, such as re-entry non-credit courses,…