This report describes an array of innovative strategies and practical ideas for helping low-income families with children. There is a window of opportunity for these new strategies as many states have tremendous financial resources available. The Temporary Assistance For Needy Families (TANF) program rules have been clarified, and families are…

Even Start programs integrate early childhood education, adult literacy or basic education, parenting education and support, and parent and child time to help break the cycle of poverty and illiteracy. This report describes the Even Start program in Colorado, and includes evaluation questions and methods. The report presents evaluation findings…

This statistical handbook is a user-friendly, up-to-date resource, and provides a thorough examination of the causes, effects, and ramifications of poverty throughout the developing world. The handbook contains more than 400 tables, graphs, and charts. In addition, it includes two special sections which contain information not consistently…

This report examined the extent to which student attendance, teacher certification, and teacher absence explained differences in reading and mathematics achievement among elementary and middle schools in New York City (beyond that explained by such student demographics as receiving free lunch, being an English language learner, and receiving…

This book is for administrators, teachers, policymakers, educational reformers, and community leaders who are concerned with achieving greater social justice in education. It provides an in-depth understanding of the challenges to schools brought about by lingering views of race, gender, ethnicity, and class, showing how the inequalities of the…

This report analyzes data provided by the Chicago Public School System, Illinois on Latino majority schools, noting implications for the Latino community. Data come primarily from school year 2000-2001 and include 140 elementary schools and 16 high schools. Findings describe the composition of the Latino majority according to student enrollment,…

This report presents findings from an evaluation of Philadelphia's Children Achieving reform agenda, which was designed to improve the Philadelphia public schools. Between 1995-1996 and 2000-2001, interviews were conducted with hundreds of teachers, principals, parents, students, district officials, and civic leaders. Researchers sat in on…

This study examines how neighborhoods, schools, and families can influence the mathematics achievement of eighth graders, using data from the 1988 National Educational Longitudinal Study combined with U.S. Census data. These data allow simultaneous analysis of all aspects of students' lives. Results indicate that there are associations between…

This study investigated the local implementation of South Carolina state policy initiatives that proposed more rigorous academic content for all students, analyzing the implementation process in schools with predominantly poor and minority students. The study, conducted between 1992-96, examined data from four urban and rural elementary schools.…

This paper explores the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 on the work training being provided to welfare recipients by community colleges. This bill changed the approach for addressing poverty from a human capital perspective, which emphasizes the need for training and education to…

In the six-state region of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, North Dakota, and South Dakota, 182 counties have been identified as having an agriculturally based economy. Characteristics of these counties have been identified using data from the U.S. Census and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Agriculturally based counties have lost…

Families with incomes between the official poverty level and the minimum economic security level face many of the same material hardships and financial pressures that officially poor families face, partly because as their income grows, they lose eligibility for public benefits. This report focuses on the role that public policies play in…

This study describes the importance of rural education in each of the 50 states, and suggests the urgency with which state policymakers should address the needs of rural schools and communities. The study compared states on two gauges of concern for their rural schools and communities. The rural importance gauge examines how important it is to the…

This paper provides an overview of dropout rates in New Mexico and reports the perceptions of Hispanic and Native American students on dropout-related issues. New Mexico has the third highest dropout rate in the nation. Over 7,500 students in New Mexico drop out each year, and many schools lose 30-50 percent of their students. Dropout rates are…

The Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program is a statewide effort in Wisconsin to increase the academic achievement of children living in poverty by reducing the student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through grade 3 to 15:1. This report is the second of five annual evaluation reports. During the 1997-1998 school year, the SAGE…