Six alternative school programs are evaluated to provide additional insight into their effectiveness in (1) promoting cognitive achievement, (2) developing positive student attitudes and self-concepts, (3) developing positive behavior change, and (4) providing long-term benefits to the students. (MJB)

An evaluation of investigations on three group parent education programs indicated that certain changes in parental attitudes and/or child behavior were evident as a result of different educational approaches. These changes were not always consistent and often depended on the type of assessment and educational approach used. (Author/DWH)

The Seaside Health Education Conference, held each June in Seaside, Oregon, offers resources and a model for wellness-oriented health education. Emphasis is on developing agent skills while sharing in a health education communication network. An evaluation of different aspects of the Seaside conference is presented. (DF)

Suggests that a successful composition inservice program revolves around four components--theory/knowledge, categories or schema, teacher attitudes, and teacher behavior. Concludes that as teachers acquire knowledge of categories, and as they change attitudes toward self-assessing and revising, they change their behavior. (FL)

In 1999, a small Brooklyn middle school in a high-crime neighborhood created the Brownsville Youth for Peace (BYFP) school safety project. The school's students have low test scores, and parents are generally not involved in school activities. BYFP coordinators (school staff, teachers, and students) assessed the nature of the school's safety…

A significant minority of teens and preteens suffer from anxiety disorders, depression and other mood disorders, behavior problems, and drug and alcohol addiction. Others have low self-esteem, difficulty coping, and feelings of insecurity. Given the harmful consequences of such disorders, policymakers and practitioners should be alert to teens…

Bullying is an interaction which establishes group identity, dominance, and status at the expense of the victim; therefore, it is only through the development of values such as empathy, consideration, and unselfishness that the bully is likely to relinquish the behavior and function differently in a social setting. By involving peers, it is…

This paper examines the roots of youth violence in U.S. society and the specific risk factors that predispose children to use violence. Using surveys of the literature, interviews with researchers, and an observation of an intervention, the report describes a highly successful school-based program of identification and intervention for high-risk…

This study evaluated how college students reacted to an Early Alert notice about their grades. Undergraduate students in 19 specific courses were sent a notice if they were receiving a C minus or below at the 5-week point of the semester. The study investigated whether students who received the notice actually performed better than did control…

This study examined the effect of a specialized after-school program, the Services to Youth Program (STYP), as one method of preventing the reoccurrence of criminal activity among delinquent youth. Seven African American youth who actively participated in the structured, curriculum-based after-school program were compared with a matched group of…

Although afterschool programs for children have been operating for many years in some communities, the afterschool movement, the great national awakening to the opportunity afterschool offers, is just a few years old. As public demand for afterschool has grown, so also has the demand for accountability. That is particularly true in programs…

Examined the relationshp between the degree of support obtained from building principals (N=9) and the effectiveness of the counselor-consultant in facilitating a program to reduce vandalism. Results showed that schools with the highest principal support were most involved in the program and most successful in reducing vandalism. (JAC)

Assigned children (N=114) from stratified blocks of percentage overweight to a comprehensive behavioral program or to a no-treatment condition. The average child in treatment declined to percentage overweight 5.71%; children in the control group gained 2.41%. Parental participation was correlated with weight change among children in the treatment…

An evaluation of a school-based drug education program was employed to examine the effect of administration of a preteaching questionnaire on responses. Found pretesting increased the amounts of alcohol reported consumed and reports of drunkenness and marijuana use. (Author)