Describes an underserved rural community in which health care initiatives increased access to comprehensive care. Over a 3-year period, increased accessibility to maternal and child health care also increased use of preventive services, thus decreasing emergency room visits and hospitalizations as well as low birth weight, risk of congenital…

Describes the Middle College High School (MCHS) at Seattle (Washington) Central Community College, a public schools cooperative venture among the school system, community college, Seattle Housing Authority, and corporate sponsor. The MCHS enrolls students at risk of dropping out and boasts an impressive effort in retaining and educating these…

Examines changes in children's health insurance status and utilization of health services in the past decade, using 1977 National Medical Care Expenditure Survey data and 1987 National Medical Expenditure Survey data. Policies that could reduce the number of uninsured children (mandated employment-related coverage and incremental Medicaid…

Argues that deficit/deficiency explanations of minority groups' poor academic performance and attrition at higher education levels are untenable. A cultural difference perspective suggests practical means to identify solutions to these phenomena. College faculty must assume responsibility for adapting instructional and counseling services to…

Describes the Nairobi Day School in East Palo Alto (California), an independent African-American institution. Its history is traced from its founding in 1966 to its closing in 1984. The Nairobi method and model are proposed as solutions to several contemporary educational problems that African Americans face in public schools. (SLD)

Describes the coordination of health and human services from sites within schools. Discusses funding trends and the following proposed strategies: (1) case management; (2) networking; (3) "one-stop" services; and (4) administrative consolidation. Discusses steps for advocacy, leadership, participation, and funding at the policy and local…

Introduces a special issue on educational program adequacy--the cost of raising poor children's outcomes to functional levels through improved systems of finance, governance, organization, implementation, and educational practice. Essays raise numerous problems, including a weak knowledge base, low educational productivity, political resistance,…

Reviews the performance of large school districts, particularly those of New York City, and argues that their relatively poor performance is caused by fundamental tensions among effective school practices and the nature of large systems. Alternative means of encouraging school independence are considered, and the most noteworthy of these are…

Data for 542, 490, 464, and 430 Baltimore (Maryland) children in winter 1982-83, summer 1983, winter 1983-84, and summer 1984, respectively, show about equal mathematics achievement of African Americans and whites at the start of grade 1, but African Americans were behind about 0.5 standard deviation by grade 3. (SLD)

Examined public school preschool programs for disadvantaged children and their developmental appropriateness by studying the programs' effects on children's language and memory skills and on classroom environment. Results showed that teachers could not distinguish their uninvolvement from overly and inappropriate academic involvement. Teachers did…

Three years after the passage of the Chicago Public Schools Reform Act, Stephen K. Hayt School in Chicago (Illinois) has shown some successes, but neighborhood politics have hampered progress as ethnic groups and others dispute issues. In addition, cuts in the citywide school budget left teachers scrambling for supplies. (JB)

Racial bias and inadequate financial supports place the children of the urban poor at risk. Implications of urban conditions for research, policy, and practice are discussed, with emphasis on delivery of social welfare services. (SLD)

Tracing the history of federal education policy in the 1960s and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) reveals shared assumptions about poverty and the government's role. These assumptions made educational reform essential to the Great Society, even though the federal commitment did not become local priority. (SLD)

D. M. Stewart does not adequately portray the problems, or sufficiently assess socioeconomic and political realities with respect to African Americans today. The lack of neutrality and objectivity in standardized tests must be recognized, and alternative forms of assessment are imperative to provide equal access to education for African Americans.…

Analyses expectations for U.S. public schools since the turn of the century. Considers families, ethnicity and race, poverty, child care, health, television, and employment. Describes experiences and problems of children and families; offers reasons why public education has problems; and discusses a current philosophy of attendance, access, and…