Higher education's responsibilities to the nation's schools include becoming active partners in making children "school ready," meeting the needs of teachers in elementary and secondary education through education and new research, increasing school accountability by reexamining the outcomes of formal education, and improving teacher status. (JB)

The unsettled federal policy environment of the 1990s will affect public policy for higher education well into the next century, particularly in the areas of research support and student aid. Institutional researchers should work with financial aid officers to comply with rules and reporting requirements and to monitor policy effects on…

This study examined the use of education tax credits at four community colleges using data from the Federal Quality Assurance Program in 1998, the first year of the HOPE Scholarship and Lifetime Learning Tax Credit (LLTC). Preliminary estimates indicated that the two tax credits were expected to primarily benefit middle-income tax filers with…

To help children succeed in schools, professionals must work with the family system since "the family is the child's first teacher" and the benefits of involving families in educating children are evident in research findings. School professionals include teachers, school social workers, school psychologists, school counselors, and school nurses.…

The author documents pervasive racial disparities in the health of American children and analyzes how and how much those disparities contribute to racial gaps in school readiness. She explores a broad sample of health problems common to U.S. children, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, asthma, and lead poisoning, as well as maternal…

The purpose of this study was to create a methodology for examining the impact of risk factors on student learning and engagement at a community college using the Community College Survey of Student Engagement (CCSSE). The two primary objectives associated with the study were to examine differences between students who took the CCSSE based on…

Schools in 47 high-poverty school districts located mostly along the Atlantic Coast of North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia may have a head start on new requirements of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, thanks to a $6 million grant from the National Science Foundation. Begun in April 2000, the five-year Coastal Rural Systemic…

Educational and legislative reforms occurring in the last half of the 20th century appear to have been initiated in response to the writings of John Dewey. The field of teacher education has responded to these reforms by adopting many new models of teacher preparation, technologies, and innovative best practices. Many of these changes were…

The first meeting of the National Literacy Summit 2000 convened 150 leaders from adult education and literacy and other related fields for a 2-day intensive working meeting to begin building a national consensus on how to move adult and family literacy forward in the 21st century. Comments and suggestions offered by summit participants were…

This issue focuses on practices that can help improve reading instruction and includes two announcements from Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). It begins with a look at study groups, the practice of teachers getting together to focus on instructional practices and student learning. Stacey Joyner, a staff member of SEDL's Texas…

This book will help Native people clarify their postsecondary aspirations, improve their college choice, and increase their success in college. After a thorough examination of the issues that should be considered, the authors present the different types of colleges available, programs and services to meet the special needs of Native students, and…

Highly practical and accessible, this indispensable book provides clear-cut strategies for improving K-12 writing instruction. The contributors are leading authorities who demonstrate proven ways to teach different aspects of writing, with chapters on planning, revision, sentence construction, handwriting, spelling, and motivation. The use of the…

(Purpose) The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of classroom sound field amplification on communication in kindergarten through grade 3 classrooms. (Methodology) Sixty classrooms were involved in the study; half of the classrooms were provided with sound field amplification. The flow of communication was measured through…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care conducted the 2004-05 Census, the tenth count of school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986, to: (1) provide a better understanding of the role of SBHCs in meeting the needs of underserved children and adolescents; (2) collect up-to-date data on demographics, staffing services, operations,…

This White Paper summarizes findings from an extensive literature review that was conducted to identify the most promising models and approaches for meeting the needs of low-income children, youth, and families during the summer months. Special attention is paid to summer learning programs that serve diverse, urban low-income children and youth.…