A charter school has focused on technology and arts in order to help urban students develop a strong intellectual, moral, environmentally conscious and artistic foundation. The different policies and programs used by the Arts and Technology Academy Public Charter School (ATA), Washington, D.C., to educate students are discussed.

Over the years, family and consumer sciences (FCS) classrooms have provided education for all students--from the gifted and talented to the mentally challenged. The typical classroom environment is warm, inviting, and realistic. Students work together to apply knowledge to real life experiences. The importance of reading, writing, math, and…

This article describes the action taken by a school regarding the numerous complaints and criticisms about students trespassing on lawns, picking flowers and fruits, and destroying trees. The school decided to take the opportunity to launch an environmental education campaign to teach students to protect flowers, plants, and the environment.…

The authors describe how the effective use of groups can promote academic achievement for adolescent African American males. Literature regarding adolescents' and African Americans' experience with groups is reviewed. The authors provide information on academic disidentification and achievement gaps, both critical to understanding the problem of…

First-year programs and freshman learning communities (FLCs) have become an institutionalized feature of the higher-education landscape. Although a vast amount of literature asserts the positive consequences of these programs, less attention has been devoted to the unintended, and occasionally negative, consequences of FLCs. The author identifies…

This article discusses three focal areas in promoting positive youth development (PYD) in schools: positive people, positive places, and positive opportunities. Given school personnel workload and federal policies that emphasize academic achievement, it remains a goal to focus on holistic adolescent outcomes and school outcomes that increase both…

Background: The school is a primary context for social interaction, cultivation of interpersonal skills, formation of peer groups, self-expression, and development of self. Several studies have demonstrated that the social context of the school has important implications for determining the likelihood that an adolescent will follow a prosocial…

The quality framework summarises and elaborates on the provisions in the Education Act and its regulations, including the National Curriculum, and must be considered in light of the legislation and regulations. The quality framework helps to clarify the responsibilities the school owners (the local and county administration authorities in…

The Black College and University Act defined an historically black college and university (HBCU) as one that existed before 1964 with a historic and contemporary mission of educating blacks while being open to all. An HBCU must either have earned accreditation from a nationally recognized accrediting agency or association or be making reasonable…

The author notes that teachers who continually require students to sit still and stop talking apparently prefer to teach a grove of trees rather than a classroom full of students. School environments should be designed to enhance the development of student brains -- and student brains are about movement, not motionless stagnation. 21st century…

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of high school students' long-term authentic research projects with Information Technologies (IT) in small groups in and out of school time on their affective dispositions in science. This study was conducted in the context of a three-year NSF project, namely, Translating Information…

Using mixed methods of inquiry, this study examines the impact of experiential learning on Latino/a college students' development as they move away from home to study and do community service in another country. Journals reveal that students developed their identity, relationships, awareness of structural inequalities, and connectedness to…

Stemming from the author's personal experience, numerous conversations with other educators, and information from relevant literature, it is apparent that the majority of students in Ontario have limited access to outdoor, experiential learning through the formal education system. The author believes that investigating the effects of existing…

Cultural differences between Asia and the West and their influence on teaching, are reviewed along with previous experiments in bringing critical thinking to Asian education, and recognition of needs for and barriers to achieving change. Principles driving design and implementation of a two-course sequence in professional transportation studies…

The Center for Summer Learning examined various summer program models and found that there are nine characteristics that provide a framework for effective summer programs. In this chapter, the authors demonstrate how effective practices lead to positive results for young people. The nine characteristics of effective summer learning programs are…