These "Stories From the Field" describe five Wallace-funded programs working to expand learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children, so they can benefit from the types of opportunities their wealthier counterparts have access to, from homework help to swimming classes. The report details each program's approach, successes and…

This article is about how the West Boca Raton Community High School's Culinary Arts Academy achieved national model status as it works to prepare the next generation of culinary artists. The culinary academy, established in 2004, adopted national standards that have served as a foundation for its excellence. In November 2007, the National Career…

This article describes the establishment of a mentor program in New South Wales (Australia) as one initiative in the education of gifted and talented children. The program focuses on linking motivated students with mentors through development of a mentor database, interviews with student applicants, on-going monitoring, and program evaluation and…

Comprising complex technologies from different academic areas, Tennessee's Value-Added Assessment System measures effects of the system, school, and teacher on rate of student progress. Research findings reveal neutral racial-composition effects for intermediate grades, deleterious effects for students changing buildings, lower yearly academic…

Describes a summer program for high-achieving middle school girls in math and science. It covers the organization, curriculum, instruction, and outcomes of the program and describes elements that students rated favorably (such as being outside a lot) and those which needed to be changed (such as too great an age span) for the second summer. (DB)

A far-reaching study offers a damning assessment of the programs that prepare most of the nation's principals and superintendents. Led by Arthur E. Levine, the president of Teachers College, Columbia University, the report says most university-based preparation programs for administrators range in quality from "inadequate to appalling." The…

When designing a language program, it is often difficult to create a workable balance between a desired ideal and the realities imposed by limited resources. Ultimately, the task is to make the best use of the available materials within the allotted time frame by drawing on the creativity and expertise of the staff. The following is a brief…

Assistance offered by the State Department of Education to school districts in Oregon to help them identify aspects of student achievement under Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and Improvement Act (Hawkins Stafford Amendments of 1988) is discussed. Two hundred ninety-five of the 297 Oregon public school districts have Chapter 1 programs,…

The achievement of students at the Science Academy of Austin, an academy located within a high school, is profiled. A study was conducted to compare Science Academy students to other high-achieving students in the Austin (Texas) Independent School District (AISD) and to predict levels of achievement. The results of this study indicate that Academy…

Commissioned by the College Board's National Task Force on Minority High Achievement, this report describes higher education programs and strategies that have the capacity to help many more minority students distinguish themselves academically on the undergraduate level. Chapters included in this report are: (1) Introduction; (2) The Challenge;…