Presentations of panelists at one in a series of monthly seminars on Family Centered Social Policy are summarized. The first panelist, Maria E. Enchautegui, began with a statistical overview of Latino poverty and then highlighted data for subgroups. Mirien Uriarte presented findings from her study on the experiences of Latinas in the Massachusetts…

This document contains vocational education program courses standards for exploratory courses, practical arts courses, and job preparatory programs offered at the secondary or postsecondary level as a part of Florida's comprehensive vocational education program. Instructional Support Services provide an opportunity for handicapped or disadvantaged…

This report gathers papers prepared for a design conference for the evaluation of the Federal Talent Search Program, an early intervention program to identify gifted and talented financially needy students and connect them with discretionary grants for higher education. An introductory paper synthesizes major conference themes. These include: (1)…

This consumer guide describes what the James Comer School Development Program is, how it got started, and its goals and principles; and presents an evaluation of its success. The program, which was started 25 years ago by a child psychiatrist (James Comer), is designed to improve the educational experience of poor minority youth. It works on the…

In Talent Development Middle Schools, students needing extra help in mathematics participate in the Computer- and Team-Assisted Mathematics Acceleration (CATAMA) course. CATAMA is an innovative combination of computer-assisted instruction and structured cooperative learning that students receive in addition to their regular math course for about…

This document reports the outcomes of a series of meetings held in Florida to provide an overview of modified occupational completion points (MOCPs), to share examples of successful district practices, and to develop plans for implementing MOCPs in the state. Part 1 explains that MOCPs are student performance standards adapted for use with…

Success for All (SFA), a schoolwide research-based reform model developed by Robert Slavin and his associates at Johns Hopkins University, is based on the premise that all students can and must succeed in the early grades. The program targets students in the lower grades, providing them with intensive instruction in language arts. This effort is…

Authorized in 1994, schoolwide programs are intended to enable high-poverty Title I schools to improve curriculum and instruction for all students without restricting services to only some students. Also part of Title I, the Migrant Education Program (MEP) supports supplemental instruction and support services for qualifying migrant children. In…

The role of race and ethnicity in predicting who becomes a teacher was the subject of a study that used data from the sophomore cohort of the High School and Beyond study, a longitudinal survey that interviewed participants in 1980, 1982, 1984, 1986, and 1992. The focus was on the impact of academic skills into entry into teaching. Four…

In 1997, the National Center for Family Literacy convened four state policymakers for an audioconference to discuss five issues related to family literacy and its role as a welfare reform strategy. First, with regard to the value of family literacy, policymakers saw literacy as the key to employment and job retention. Second, family literacy was a…

Community-based prevention-oriented approaches that provide basic supports to families are needed to address rising rates of violence, child abuse, and other socially disruptive behavior. Weak families, weak neighborhoods, and weak economies are mutually reinforcing and lead to negative behaviors by youth and others. In proposing a community…

Title I of the Improving America's Schools Act (IASA) of 1994 provides funds for schools with large concentrations of children from low-income families. A fundamental requirement is that children served by Title I funds must be educated according to the same academic standards as all other students. This handbook focuses on methods for developing…

This document presents testimony and prepared statements concerning the lack of information about educational and career opportunities for young people beyond high school, and the need for improving access to student financial aid information so that economically disadvantaged students have the opportunity to go on to higher education. Witnesses…

An evaluation was done of New York City Board of Education's Project, Guidance Oriented Acquisition of Learning Skills (Project GOALS) for 1989-90. The project, in the first year of a 3-year funding cycle, provided 340 students of limited English proficiency (LEP) from various ethnic backgrounds (including Asian, Hispanic, Eastern European, and…

This document evaluates the 1989 and 1990 Reading Improvement Program, which aimed to enhance and support 330 local schools in the implementation of Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools' goals for reading and language arts in kindergarten through grade 6. The program focused on improving instruction and reading achievement. Program features included…