This book explores parental participation in the public schools as an opportunity for personal growth and empowerment and as a source of support for educational goals and needed resources. The first chapter explores developmental, psychological, and sociological theories that deal with human potential and how this is related to participation,…

This report discusses the services disadvantaged children need to prepare for school, the extent to which they receive these services from early childhood centers (defined as providing child development, parent, and health and nutrition services), and the reasons early childhood centers may not deliver all the services these children need. Chapter…

Two contrasting educational responses to cultural diversity are discussed. One is a core curriculum education movement and the other is a multicultural education movement. It is argued that neither of these responses will have an appreciable effect on the school-learning problems of minorities who have not traditionally done well in school.…

The main objective of this evaluation was to compare the achievement of the Ten Schools Program (TSP) students with the achievement of students in comparable schools. Since the original 10 schools selected for the TSP evaluation in 1988 were no longer a proper comparison group, evaluators selected a new set of 12 comparison schools. The mission of…

This report summarizes a series of studies on school size, poverty, and student achievement. These studies analyzed 29 sets of test scores from various grades in Georgia, Ohio, Montana, and Texas to examine the relationship between school-level performance on tests, school size, and community poverty level. The studies found that as schools become…

This manual is designed to assist Nebraska school districts in identifying high-ability students. Chapter 1, "Philosophy Regarding High-Ability Learners," explores characteristics of high-ability learners, the unique needs of high-ability learners, roadblocks to meeting student needs, the need for staff development, the importance of…

In June 2002, the Appellate Division of the First Department of the State Supreme Court reversed Justice DeGrasse's 2001 ruling that found that New York State's education funding system unconstitutionally denied many children, and especially those in New York City, fair academic opportunities. The majority decision, authored by Justice Alfred D.…

This non-regulatroy guide from the U.S. Department of Education focuses on the McKinney-Vento Education for the Homeless Children and Youth (McKinney-Vento) program as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. An introductory section explains the purpose of McKinney-Vento, the statutory authority for the program, how the new McKinney-Vento…

With the emergence of greater stress in the life of today's youth, much effort has gone into the investigation of effective coping methods for adolescents. By employing coping strategies, youth gain self-control and learn appropriate behavioral responses to many of life's stressors. Effective coping can assist adolescents in mastering cognitive,…

Starting with the 1997-1998 school year, the Direct Instruction Reading/Language Arts Program was implemented in three elementary schools in a northwest urban public school system as a 3-year pilot study to improve the academic performance of at-risk students. Direct Instruction (DI) is aimed at providing effective learning for low-achieving…

An interdisciplinary curriculum program was introduced at a suburban high school almost 1,700 students when the school became eligible for a Chapter 1 program grant for academically at risk students. The interdisciplinary program, which integrated English, Algebra, Biology, and World History, developed and was expanded to all students, including…

When a University of Louisville Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI) director, a team of graduate students, and an instructor designed a free summer computer camp program for disadvantaged middle schoolers, they imagined that the middle schoolers would respond to the first instruction as if the educators had restrained them in technological and…

Med-Start is a 5-week program that encourages rural, minority, and economically disadvantaged high school seniors throughout Arizona to pursue careers in the health professions. In order to assist these students in making the transition from high school to college and then to professional school, Med-Start provides academic coursework and seeks to…

The conversion of an "old school bus" in the late 1960s into a mobile library is discussed. The conversion was an element of educational service developed cooperatively between a regional educational laboratory and a rural school system. The project endeavored to improve the early experiences of future students, many of whom would have…

Examines how the junior college is used by groups who formerly have not entered college--those from low-income families, especially disadvantaged minority group members, and the academically less successful of all strata and races. (Author/JM)