Eighteen schools in the Baltimore City Public School System have developed a successful whole school reform model. The components of the entire whole school reform package (focused professional development with the staffing to support it, a balanced literacy education program, and monitoring of the instructional program) have enabled the schools…

Examines social and economic inequalities in the United Kingdom. Demonstrates how children's welfare and family functioning are crucially dependent upon locally available social support. Argues that building social capital in poor communities is more effective in promoting children's welfare than is present emphasis on formal child-protection and…

Contends that Great Britain's 1989 Children Act has not facilitated a proper understanding of childhood disadvantages or policies to address disadvantage. Discusses prevention in the context of government initiatives such as Sure Start. Advocates analysis of neighborhood disadvantages and neighborhood-based policies, maintaining that the geography…

Discusses the results from a survey commissioned by Human Rights USA that investigated what individuals know and think about human rights issues in the United States. Asserts that the survey gives community activists, educators, and decision makers the means to analyze local and national human-rights problems and move toward solutions. (CMK)

This article presents childhood disability prevalence trends and their interaction with economic status. Estimates derived from National Health Interview Survey data (1983-96) indicate a significant increase in childhood disability rates. Analysis indicates a greater risk in single-parent households and a growing relationship between poverty and…

This study surveyed 3,595 teachers to determine judgments of prevalence and types of problems children present upon entering kindergarten. Up to 46% reported that half their class or more had specific problems in any of several transition areas. Rates of perceived problems were related to school minority composition; district poverty level; and,…

The argument presented is that although work is one path toward improved well-being for poor families, a successful and humane social welfare policy must recognize and respond to its limitations. This article reviews specific propositions of prowork rhetoric and concludes that former welfare participants require a broad range of supports to move…

Describes a failed yearlong quest to desegregate Cleveland's schools that ended up unifying the city's black community and helping black Clevelanders understand the limitations of negotiation, direct action, boycotts, and the legal system in creating permanent change. Black residents turned to the political arena to realize the potential of black…

The landmark legal decision, Brown v. Board of Education, was rendered on May 17, 1954. Fifty years later, campuses and communities are commemorating the decision and its impact on contemporary life. The Harvard legal scholar, Charles Ogletree, has published a riveting book of his reflections, a government commission is staging a variety of…

A large body of literature examines disparities in school funding across districts. Berne and Stiefel (1984) developed the standard framework for measuring school finance equity, and the measures catalogued there have been applied extensively to assess funding disparities across districts. Much of this literature has focused on measures of…

The students in Ms. Thomas' classes are struggling with poverty, learning disabilities, behavioral disorders, transience, and home languages other than English. Ms. Thomas is struggling to understand how they are going to meet the same standards as students who don't face such difficulties. In this artilce, Ms. Thomas expresses her opinions on…

The problems many Indian children experience in schools-- low academic achievement, absenteeism, high drop-out rates-- cannot be solved by any one individual. Instead, it requires action by the entire school system and, especially, greater leadership by Indians themselves. Tribes must become partners in the process of school reform and become…

This study examined the level and impact of five types of parent involvement on elementary school children's academic achievement by race/ethnicity, poverty, and parent educational attainment. The sample comprised 415 third through fifth graders who completed the Elementary School Success Profile. Hypotheses from Bourdieu's theory of cultural…

During the past 3 years, the Oral History Project Study Team, which comprises Jean King, Mel Mark, and Robin Miller, has conducted interviews with individuals who have made signal contributions to the program evaluation field. Their goal was to capture the professional evolution of those who have contributed to the way evaluation in the United…

We examined the role of family stress as a mediator of the relationship between poverty and depressed mood among 1,704 low-income, inner-city African-American adolescents. Nearly half of participants (47%) reported clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms. Being female, reporting higher levels of family stress, and scoring higher on a…