New York Networks for School Renewal (NYNSR) is a 5-year collaborative project begun in 1995 as part of an effort to revitalize U.S. schools through public-private partnerships. Four New York organizations with years of experience in public education reform have joined in the NYNSR collaboration. An outcomes evaluation collected and analyzed both…

School systems in the United States are not serving Latino students well, especially those from low-income families. This book examines difficulties encountered by Mexican-origin students--one of the fastest growing minority groups--and describes why some schools fall short and how others have improved student outcomes. The focus throughout the…

This study was guided by two objectives: (1) to ascertain if college students differentiate among job-related values (i.e., those which depend on the particular place of employment); and (2) to investigate sex and ethnicity differences on the values. The participants were 80 male and 178 female undergraduate students at 14 universities or…

Providing Hispanic elementary students with a great variety of books in Spanish and 60 minutes a week of free reading time resulted in significantly higher Spanish reading performance with no loss of English reading proficiency and significant improvement of reading attidues, compared with control groups. (MH)

Differentiating and ranking (D/R) mechanisms (norm-referenced testing, grouping, competition, busing differences) within the school isolate the culturally foreign and define them as inferior to the culturally dominant. The D/R factors constitute a vehicle by which the school commits symbolic violence. (Author/CM)

Analysis of reading comprehension errors made by 22 Spanish-speaking fourth-graders in decoding English text found that comprehension "errors" began at the word level and advanced to larger misinterpretations at the sentence level. The cognitive processes of English language learners when comprehending English texts showed individual differences,…

Considers three factors largely ignored in simple market models of educational choice. Religious faith and discipline play an integral part in both the choosing families and the subsequent school environments. Participating families remain in the middle and upper classes. Participating schools can, and do, refuse students. (MJP)

Profiles a Puerto Rican family who participated in a cross-cultural ethnographic study of family influence on children's school achievement. This low-income, single-parent household reflects broader Puerto Rican cultural values, including the influence of the extended family, in its support for school achievement. (SLD)

Interviews with 35 members of Interagency Coordinating Councils (ICCs), authorized by Part H of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, revealed that a wide variety of public awareness and child-find strategies were utilized to improve program participation of culturally/linguistically diverse groups. There was some ICC representation…

A review of recent trends concerning Hispanics and higher education looks at demographics, research and curriculum development, Latina studies, California legislation concerning immigration and affirmative action, court decisions, student recruitment and retention efforts, financial aid patterns, faculty hiring, and Hispanics in college…

Examines instructional strategies for improving the education of English language learners. The strategies reviewed were ESL in the Content Areas, Effective Use of Time (EUOT), and a combination of the other two. The EUOT group had the highest scores on reading and language arts achievement and the combined treatment group, the lowest. (34…

An ethnographic study of 12 low-income Puerto Rican parents of children with learning disabilities or mild mental retardation found that different cultural meanings of disability and normalcy led parents to reject the notion of disability and focus on the impact of family identity, language confusion, and detrimental educational practices on…

Minority participation in the workforce, and by extension in vocational education, is increasingly important to the economic welfare of the United States. Describes a conference focusing on minority issues and concerns in vocational education related to programs, students, staff, and research. Recommends development of role models, funding, and…

Common instructional practices in the teaching of language minority students are described. The case study of a fourth grade classroom in Longmont (Colorado) illustrates how a teacher's enthusiasm for literacy instruction creates an environment where all students, including the Hispanic language minority, can be active participants. (SLD)

Scaffolding is a conceptual framework through which educators rethink the in-school learning experience. The following three models of culturally sensitive scaffolding offer important lessons for literacy education: (1) signifying and interpreting "speakerly texts"; (2) talk story, turn taking, and classroom discussion; and (3) community…