The Opportunities Industrialization Center (OIC) is the nation's major community-based organization providing manpower development services to the disadvantaged. Chapter 1 of this report introduces the topic and outlines the major issues to be considered. Chapter 2 describes the nature of the urban job crisis and the social and economic conditions…

The Urban Teacher Program (UTP) is the result of a collaboration between Wayne County Community College (WCCC), Wayne State University (Michigan), and Eastern Michigan University. It was created to recruit, educate, and prepare minority students for teaching careers in urban elementary schools, where learning is hindered by violence and lack of…

Reviews "The Truly Disadvantaged: The Inner City, the Underclass, and Public Policy," by William Julius Wilson. Criticizes Wilson's analysis of the rising number of out-of-wedlock births and female-headed households among Blacks. (FMW)

Six Black men in their midtwenties, all from inner-city school, expressed their feelings about what it means to be a Black man and their views of family. Participants had taken varying steps toward overcoming negative self-images but still had many obstacles to overcome. (SLD)

Conventional explanations attributing the high infant mortality rate in United States to the prevalence of poverty and lack of adequate health care do not tell the whole story. Contributions of parental behavior, lifestyles, and public health care availability versus utilization must be examined in determining public policies to address the…

In spite of increasing ethnic, linguistic, and socioeconomic diversity, educational reform efforts continue to target mainstream English-speaking U.S. public. The educational plans of the America 2000 initiative are no exception. This theme issue provides examples of classroom-based research in which educators try to improve literacy education for…

The historical realities of a northeastern urban community in two periods of high immigration (1890 to 1920 and 1970 to 1990) for European and Latin Americans point out the fallacies of stories of earlier times when newcomers supposedly learned English effortlessly and without special programs for linguistic minority children. (SLD)

Explores violence and weapon use among high school students. Both are on the increase. Schools have a responsibility to stop the overflow of street crime into the schools, but they cannot accomplish this without the help of parents. Parents must learn how to teach their children alternatives to violence. (SLD)

Comments on "The Timing of a First Birth and High School Completion" (Dawn M. Upchurch and James McCarthy) (1990). In considering relationships between adolescent childbearing and completion of high school, Upchurch and McCarthy misinterpret socioeconomic data. Their conclusion that young mothers are no less likely to graduate from high school is…

Demonstrates how several factors interact to diminish the chances of academic success for the children of public housing, and suggests how these chances might be improved. A first step is renewed commitment to housing conditions. Reduction of class size is a strong option for increasing achievement for children. (SLD)

Proposes a Marshall Plan for America to be implemented by the private sector and volunteer organizations as well as government. Goals related to improving the conditions in which U.S. minorities live are established for the business community, educators, and the African-American community. The African-American community must commit itself to…

It has long been recognized that organizations that provide education, health and other services to children and families do not work together easily, although coordination is recognized as desirable. This exploration of facilitation strategies in service coordination draws upon the study by the Center on Education in the Inner Cities of projects…

Trends in poverty and income inequality and potential solutions for such social problems are discussed. The complicated attitudes of the general public toward public policy and social problems are reviewed, with an emphasis on the persistence and intergenerational transmission of poverty, the extent of welfare dependence, and the emergence of an…

A study was done to assess the likelihood of substantial improvement in New York City public education by the year 2000 by extrapolating trends in enrollment, demographic changes, and general fiscal patterns. The study also looked at trends among the at-risk population of New York City: those with special language and financial needs and those at…

Senior, high quality teachers can be retained in inner city schools despite limited resources and difficult conditions. Compared to teachers in suburban and rural school districts, teachers in urban systems often have lower salaries, work under greater bureaucratic constraints, teach more students per day, and lack basic materials. Good,…