The GEAR UP Austin: Impacting Lives program serves a cohort of approximately 3,369 seventh graders from 10 Austin Independent School District (AISD) middle schools and 28 seventh graders from the Texas Empowerment Academy charter school. More than half of these students come from low-income households, and many are considered at risk. This…

The Virginia Community College System (VCCS) operates 23 colleges on 40 campuses throughout Virginia. VCCS educated 63% of all Virginians enrolled as undergraduates in any public college or university in the Commonwealth in fall 2002. VCCS is the major provider of higher education services in economically struggling regions of the state, and…

From 1994 to 1997, social welfare improved in Peru. Areas of improvement included decreased poverty and severe poverty rates, increased school attendance and literacy, and a healthier population. Most important among health improvements was reduced malnutrition among young children. Social improvements stemmed from the favorable overall economic…

This guide highlights issues involved in increasing participation in welfare-to-work programs and offers advice and best practices for achieving higher participation levels. Part 1, "Introduction," has three sections that discuss the importance of participation, summarize major points, and introduce the guide. The seven sections of Part…

This report examines the financial needs of Arkansas families, and establishes, using conservative economic assumptions, an annual Family Income Standard (FIS) for the state and each of its counties. The FIS is a new tool to be used by citizens, state and local policy makers, civic organizations, non-profits, and parents as they look to improve…

This report summarizes 1997 activities of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), an independent agency of the U.S. government. The IAF promotes equitable, participatory, and sustainable self-help development in Latin America and the Caribbean by awarding grants directly to local organizations, as well as by entering into partnerships with public-…

This report summarizes 1998 activities of the Inter-American Foundation (IAF), an independent agency of the U.S. government. The IAF promotes equitable, participatory, and sustainable self-help development in Latin America and the Caribbean by awarding grants directly to local organizations, as well as by entering into partnerships with public-…

A study examined how pedagogic work in Queensland (Australia) schools could be reformed to meet the educational needs of low-achieving students from working-class and unemployed Samoan/Pacific Islander communities. Interviews were conducted with 39 primarily Anglo-Australian teachers and 35 Samoan/Pacific Islander parents and community members…

This monograph from the University of Minnesota General College (GC) discusses theoretical perspectives on developmental education from both new and established standpoints. GC voluntarily eliminated its degree programs in order to focus on preparing under-prepared students for transfer to the university system. GC's curricular model includes a…

This second annual report on the condition of U.S. cities outlines the challenges for cities if the United States is to reach its full potential in the 21st century. Data from many sources reveal three major findings: (1) cities are fiscally and economically the strongest they have been in a decade; (2) cities still face the triple threat of…

A study estimated the aggregate effects of antipoverty policies on wages and unemployment of different groups. The context was one in which emphasis was on labor supply policies, such as welfare reform or job training, and not on policies to increase labor demand for the poor, such as public employment or subsidizing private employers to hire the…

Describes a Vocational Exploration Program at the military base, Fort Lewis, in Tacoma, Washington, which provided opportunities for 20 young women to sample jobs formerly reserved for men. This program is sponsored jointly by the National Alliance of Business and the AFL-CIO and funded under the Comprehensive Employment and Training Act. (MF)

The effects of an instrumental enrichment program--designed to modify the cognitive structures of educable mentally retarded, disadvantaged, and other low-functioning adolescents--were studied with 114 Ss in both residential and day-care settings in Israel. (Author/DLS)

In discussing Rafe-uz-Zaman's essay on adult literacy and national development (see v9, n1 of this journal), the author cites examples to support his thesis that mass literacy campaigns in predominately agricultural countries can be successful only if there is simultaneous undertaking of economic development programs focused on the rural poor. (MF)

Bernstein's theory of the relationships among social class, language "codes," family/school social structures, and school success is discussed, as is Labov's rejection of the "verbal deficit" concept. A relevant experiment is described. (Available in microfiche from: Carfax Publishing Company, Haddon House,…