This study of youth development opportunities for youth aged 7 to 14 years in Minneapolis (Minnesota) involved three phases completed between 1994 and 1995. Planning and information gathering involved interviews with 60 program providers and key informants from youth programs. A written survey of 187 program providers assesses perceived barriers…

This literature review examines whether verifiable evidence supports the supposition that early interventions result in better child developmental outcomes than later interventions for disadvantaged children with disabilities. First, existing reviews of the literature on the "earlier is better" supposition were examined. Second, a meta analysis on…

This report describes the All Day Kindergarten (ADK) Program undertaken at 18 elementary schools in Columbus, Ohio, and presents an evaluation of the language development component of the program. ADK provides an extra half day of instruction, using a language-based curriculum to reinforce the skills, concepts, and educational experiences taught…

This paper describes preliminary results from a study at the Crisis Control Ministry, a poverty relief organization in Winston-Salem (North Carolina). The intent of the study was to explore the nature of and influences on contemporary urban poverty by having the investigator serve as a volunteer interviewer at the Crisis Control Ministry. Another…

This booklet challenges assumptions about the hopelessness of educational reform in urban high schools by presenting the stories of: (1) Theodore Sizer's Coalition of Essential Schools; and (2) Metro High School in Cedar Rapids (Iowa), a school that participates in the Coalition. Following an introduction, the Coalition of Essential Schools…

In April 1987, the Austin school board approved the current student assignment plan, which returned most elementary students to their neighborhood schools and created 16 predominantly minority schools with many students from low-income families. This report summarizes the outcomes of a 5-year plan, "A Plan for Educational Excellence," in…

The Home Instruction Program for Preschool Youngsters (HIPPY) is a home-based, early intervention program for young, disadvantaged children and their families to enhance their potential for academic success when they enter school. This book describes the components of the program and reports on the research related to HIPPY's effects on the…

A study was done to investigate and document the nature and quality of actual mentoring relationships and the processes used to establish and support such relationships in Minneapolis (Minnesota). Interviews were conducted with mentoring program staff about pairs of proteges and mentors, with mentors, with proteges, and with another significant…

The immigrant population of Israel falls into two large groups: those of European descent and those from North African and Middle Eastern countries. Families from traditionally agrarian Arab countries generally have a lower socioeconomic status, and their children have difficulty competing in school with children from a more urban, industrialized,…

This report analyzes the long-term benefits, to children and society, of high-quality early childhood education. Specifically, it explores the contribution which these programs can make as a long-term social investment and as a means of ameliorating the effects of poverty. Evidence for the outcomes of such programs comes from a long-term study of…

This report describes the study undertaken to implement a legislative resolution in Montana. Part 1 reports the subcommittee's decision to make an evaluation of the state's existing job training programs the primary object of its study. Public comment on the study's purpose, heard by the subcommittee at its first meeting, is summarized in this…

This report offers an evaluation of the Hawaii Chapter 1 Program for school years 1985-86 and 1986-87. The reading and mathematics programs served 14,158 students in 1985-86 and 14,280 in 1986-87. Data regarding reading indicated that mean normal curve equivalent (NCE) gains greater than zero were found in all districts and grade levels for both…

This report presents a summary of South Carolina's utilization of Title I/Chapter 1 funds as an educational resource for educationally deprived children from 1981 through 1985. It also identifies those projects exhibiting the greatest gains in student achievement during 1985. During the five years studied, there were steady decreases in the…