The new state and district policy initiatives in California recognize that effective parent involvement is multifaceted and requires schools' active efforts. The San Diego County Office of Education has served as information clearinghouse, source of direct services to parents, and provider of staff development and planning assistance. Challenges…

This article considers issues in helping gifted students at risk due to cultural, economic, or social factors separating them from the mainstream, including identification and intervention, program standards, local program issues, and philosophical and definitional issues. Data from national and local studies, overall recommendations and a…

It is argued that intergenerational poverty has devastating effects on families and children; and intensive targeted interventions in the first five years of life are effective in preventing intellectual dysfunction resulting from poverty. Issues related to developing and implementing national efforts to prevent environmentally induced handicaps…

About one-third of Black Americans live in poverty. The inability to achieve economic independence renders them hostage to numerous problems that may include occasional or chronic hunger, homelessness, and lack of adequate health care. Blacks must pursue vigorous political representation, among other strategies, to attain economic…

Discusses the prevalence and rise of poverty in the United States, which is found particularly among women, children, and those from minority groups. Discusses the positive association between poverty and mental health problems. Describes the impact of poverty on women, and the need for research to discover the psychological impact of poverty. (JS)

Examines the reasons behind the failure of poverty programs such as the War on Poverty, the Comprehensive Employment Training Administration (CETA), and the Great Society. Argues that ghettoized high school students need community action programs that will give them jobs while they are still in school. (FMW)

Argues that Black political action is the only solution to freeing African Americans from the poverty of the ghettos. Proposes that the two fundamental tasks facing the Black community are the restoration of the self-esteem of Black children and the elimination of the American myth of national equality. (FMW)

Describes life during the Depression era by studying narrative and visual portrayals of African American children in both rural and urban settings. Sources include Richard Wright's "12 Million Black Voices" and Stella Gentry Sharpe's "Tobe" as well as work that critically analyzes these narrative and visual documentations of…

An Idaho education dean recounts a moving encounter with a fatherless first-grader while visiting his grandson in Eugene, Oregon. Envisioning a deadbeat dad and a burned-out mother, he pondered the statistical odds of this child graduating from college. However, the girl's warm welcome from her teacher helped revise his hopes about the little…

Provides a descriptive analysis of the recent history of family policy and argues that the United States, within its cultural context, inhibits the development of a national family policy. The final section provides an analysis of the visionary changes needed to develop a national family policy. (GR)

Intellectually gifted students in grades 6-12 living in central Mississippi were administered the Preferred Instructor Characteristics Scale. Rural, low socioeconomic group students had a stronger preference for teachers with personal-social behaviors such as friendliness, enthusiasm, and respect for students, compared to suburban middle-upper…

Longitudinal data on 171 low-income home buyers and 101 low-income renters in Baltimore (Maryland) are used to compare community and social participation. Results indicate that home buyers were more likely to join neighborhood or block organizations but not necessarily to be more active social participants. (SLD)

Edwin West's critique of the author's "Economics of Educational Choice" essay questions the wisdom of public financial support for schools, a challenge that Levin did not address. This rejoinder respectfully tackles West's assumptions concerning the costs of government versus private schooling and private education benefits for poor…

Discusses successes and failures of subsidized housing in urban areas and the relationship between architectural environment and quality of life, particularly as regards high-rise buildings. Given that some high-rise projects are successful, most should be maintained because of the scarcity of low-income housing. (DM)

Describes the Bronx Corridor of Success Initiative, a collaborative program linking schools, colleges, health institutions, and social agencies that promotes systemic educational reform in low-income communities. Discusses the strategies and outcomes from the first four years of the initiative, established in 1992, and lessons learned. (EMH)