NASA Explorer Schools provides unique opportunities for students and teachers by offering access to technology and resources that are seemingly beyond reach. Combining new technologies with NASA content, lesson plans, and real-world experiments enables teachers to enhance inquiry-based learning and augment student engagement. This publication…

Chapter 1 of this document examines the need for alternative education among vulnerable youth by reviewing the numbers and characteristics of youth who disconnect from mainstream developmental pathways in various ways. The second chapter examines the question of "what is an alternative education school or program" and draws on a variety…

In May 1996, the Education Commission of the United States, with the support of the Charles A. Dana Foundation, convened a 2-day meeting in Austin (Texas) to focus on urban school district reform and restructuring. Participants, who included state policymakers, superintendents of several urban school systems, and a number of education researchers…

ExceL grants are a local funding initiative of the Austin Independent School District (Texas) designed to improve student achievement at the elementary level. Schools submit proposals for the 4-year grants, and the amount of the grant is determined based on the number of students not meeting minimum expectations on the Texas Assessment of Academic…

The essays in this collection, presented as letters to teachers, reaffirm Paulo Freire's place as the most significant educator in the world during the last half of the 20th century. As North America experiences a rapid change to conditions approximating those of the Third World, Freire's pedagogy becomes more important, not only for his methods…

This 5-year ethnographic study examines the issue of educational opportunity at Russell High School, a multiethnic school in Eastown (school and city both pseudonyms). Focusing on the beliefs and values of students, teachers, and administrators, this study reveals how prevailing cultural beliefs, the collective nature of the student population,…

This report explores the continued and intense interest in the nation's largest transfer of inner-city students to suburban high schools, that of the Boston (Massachusetts) metropolitan area. The Metropolitan Council for Educational Opportunities (METCO) was established by black educators and parents in 1963 to offer students the opportunity to…

This report assesses the cost effectiveness of several crime prevention strategies that involve early intervention in the lives of people at risk of pursuing a criminal career. Four different approaches are examined: (1) home visits by child care professionals beginning before birth and extending through the first 2 years of life, followed by 4…

The federal Even Start program was implemented to improve the educational opportunities of low-income children and adults by integrating early childhood education, adult education, and parent education into a unified family literacy initiative. This study was designed to assess the impact of Even Start on children's early school performance…

The history of Asian Americans is filled with abuses against them from virtually every segment of society and from every level of government. Fortunately, Asian Americans, as well as members of other minority groups, are able to turn to a number of state and federal statutes aimed at protecting their civil rights. Government, legal, and community…

The Hartford Public Schools (Connecticut) received a Comprehensive Partnerships for Minority Student Achievement (CPMSA) grant from the National Science Foundation. In the first year of the grant, four schools (two elementary, one middle, and one high school) were identified for CPMSA activities. The CPMSA goal was to develop systemic approaches…

To assist educators in fostering resilience among children, this paper offers information that will help transform the picture of children at risk to a vision of educationally resilient students who can overcome obstacles. Researchers have offered many definitions of resilience, but all have stressed the capacity of the individual to overcome…

Every year, approximately six million children transfer to new schools, leaving them vulnerable to social, behavioral, and academic problems. This book provides a look at this stressful and frequent life event for children, and offers practical strategies for easing the transition and helping children adjust to new environments. Research has…

Although the concept of "community" has been defined in many ways, it generally encompasses subgroups that provide emotional and common-interest ties as well as a sense of subjective wholeness. This paper provides a brief chronology on community within American life and the influence of ideals arising from this history. A look at…

Multicultural education in Germany has been profoundly affected by history and the consequences and burdens of war. As Germany has always understood itself to be a monocultural country, there was initially little room for unpopular multicultural approaches to school organization and curriculum. Depending on the political orientation of state…