Notes recent growth of dance in America and lack of dance education in public schools. Comments on effects Paideia Proposal adoption would have on dance in schools. Discusses proposal effects on teacher education, particularly concerning dance. Covers citizen interest in dance and the future of the dance profession. (MH)

Reviews the literature on the importance of community involvement in achieving desegregation and other broad social and educational goals; details risks that must be taken into account when planning meaningful involvement; and specifies techniques for fostering community involvement, with attention directed to the strengths and weaknesses of each.…

"Harvard Education Letter" is published bimonthly at the Harvard Graduate School of Education. This issue of "Harvard Education Letter" contains the following articles: (1) Where High Turnover Meets Low Performance: New Initiatives Target the Special Problems of Hard-to-Staff Schools (Alexander Russo); (2) Parents as Partners in School Reform:…

There is solid consensus among researchers, program providers, and families that participation in constructive activities during out-of-school time hours can contribute to a youth's healthy and positive development. This paper explores some of the key issues and challenges facing program and city leaders in creating and sustaining afterschool…

This study examines the factors that influence participation in vocational education among students who attended high school during the early 1990s--that is, when the focus of federal vocational education policy began to change. The factors examined included three types of characteristics of students, their parents, and their high schools: (1)…

This book defines what rubrics are, and how to construct and use them. It provides a complete introduction for anyone starting out to integrate rubrics in their teaching. The authors go on to describe a variety of processes to construct rubrics, including some which involve student participation. They demonstrate how interactive rubrics--a process…

Incidents of violence in recent years have intensified concern about student conduct in our nation's schools, and have heightened the desire, among educators and others, to find ways of ameliorating the problem. Social science can play a supportive role, by providing insight into the origins of deviance in schools. However, while previous…

From July 1995 through September 2001, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) and the Ford Foundation (Ford) operated a demonstration of the Quantum Opportunity Program (QOP). QOP offered intensive and comprehensive services to help at-risk youth graduate from high school and enroll in postsecondary education or training. QOP was mainly an…

The State Board of Education and the Michigan Department of Education are about to publish letter grades for each of the state's 4,015 public elementary, middle and high schools. These grades are part of "Education Yes!", Michigan's new school accreditation system. The familiar ABCD/F grades of their youth will provide parents and the…

In 1994, when the researchers conducted the research that lay the foundation for Equipped for the Future (EFF), adult learners told them that building and maintaining a strong family was a powerful motivator for their return to school. They wanted to set a good example for their children--to show them that getting an education was important. They…

Every teacher knows about barriers to learning and teaching that interferes with student progress and academic achievement. These barriers to learning can hamper a student's ability to participate effectively and benefit fully from classroom instruction and other educational activities. For school improvement efforts to succeed in ways that truly…

What is the best way to share leadership duties while creating successful learning communities? What is the best way to help teachers improve their practice while also tracking student achievement? With this resource for effective leadership, answers will be found to these tough questions for every member of a school team. This book takes a…

A growing body of evidence indicates that the test scores of low-income children drop significantly relative to their higher-income counterparts during the summer months. This study finds that a well-implemented summer learning program can improve reading skills and increase the extent to which parents encourage their children to read during the…

Most boards are insulated from misbehavior of college fraternities and sororities. This article shows how they could aid reforms by facilitating partnerships and developing a better understanding of today's Greek culture. To change the current culture, a renewed commitment is needed to develop working partnerships between the key constituencies…

Several trends have come together to intensify interest in how public libraries might best support the interests and needs of youth in their communities. This study reports on findings from the Public Libraries as Partners in Youth Development (PLPYD) Initiative, a four-year, nine-site initiative funded by the Wallace Foundation to develop…