The experiences of regional and rural teachers supporting students on the autism spectrum in their classrooms often differ from those of their metropolitan counterparts. Interventions designed for metropolitan settings may not work the same way in regional and rural classrooms, and teachers outside major centres may encounter challenges in…

Reviews benefits of smaller class size based on research in elementary and middle schools such as higher student achievement. Concludes that high school students can also benefit from smaller classes. Calls for rigorous class-size research at the high school level. (Contains 41 references.) (PKP)

Although the number of urban Catholic schools has declined in recent years, Nativity model middle schools, first developed by the Jesuits over 35 years ago, have appeared throughout the nation to address the need for effective alternative education for urban children placed at risk. The present study compares the effectiveness of two types of…

Many school districts have set up alternative learning centers to provide programs for students whose behavior problems keep them from functioning effectively in a traditional school program. A recent study of seven alternative middle school programs attributes program success to teacher effectiveness, focus on student learning, and smaller class…

Blaming unsatisfactory student achievement on the middle school concept is a case of mistaken identity. Too many middle schools have failed to fully implement the middle school concept. Based on statements from the Carnegie Council and the National Middle School Association, the middle school concept calls for improved academic achievement for all…

Much continues to be written about the failure of U.S. schools to provide a quality education for at-risk urban students. Private Nativity model schools have been instituted in response to the need to provide quality education at the middle school level for such students. As the number of these and other alternative middle schools increases, a…

In 1996, a Winston-Salem principal closed a failing alternative school and developed a new program dedicated to helping at-risk kids succeed. The result was LEAP (Learning and Acceleration Program) Academy, a school that helps academically unstable middle-school students catch up to their peers by completing two years of academic course work in…