Wisconsin State Representative Polly Williams talks about the results of the Milwaukee Education Choice bill which enables 400 socioeconomic-disadvantaged children to attend private innercity schools under a voucher system. High attendance rates and college bound rates are attributed to an African-centered curriculum, parental involvement, and…

Fear can produce behavior that is indistinguishable from racism. The best way to reduce real or imagined racism is to reduce the African-American crime rate to equal that of whites. This will require an enormous commitment to the problems of the innercity. (SLD)

Reviews research on parent involvement, focusing on families of poverty, and describes major parent partnership models incorporating home visiting, reading, and tutorial components. Programs described include a West Virginia Home-Oriented Preschool Education project, a New York City Parental Empowerment Program, a Texas Parents in Action reading…

Inner-city kindergarten children (n=24) were given an 18-week phonological awareness training program, which incorporated auditory and articulatory techniques for fostering metaphonological development. Compared to controls, subjects had greater gains in phonological awareness at the end of kindergarten and had a trend toward better reading skills…

Describes the postdoctoral fellowship program of the Spencer Foundation. Administered by the National Academy of Education, Spencer Fellowships (30 annually) enable young scholars to pursue educational research by giving them the equivalent of a year off from teaching. (SLD)

The Even Start project in the Poudre (Colorado) School District involves a learning center where parents receive literacy instruction and are trained to become partners in their children's education. The program features separate parent and child activities, group activities, home visits from family monitors, field trips, and support groups. (SK)

Discusses the factors contributing to the growing demand for lifelong learning and examines the disproportionately low participation rate of minority students in the lifelong learning process. Considers the need to create, from the elementary level onward, self-directed students who are aware of their educational options. (DMM)

Principal Gloria Sanchez Roman is giving local parents a voice at Roque de Duprey Elementary School. A 10-member council helps get parents involved. (MLF)

Discusses Israeli teachers' negative attitudes toward Jews of North African and Middle Eastern origin, who constitute about half of Israel's Jewish population and comprise 90 percent of Israel's disadvantaged. Describes several countermeasures and predicts that change will come as the position of Oriental Jews in Israeli society improves. (DM)

Examines elements of programs that have been successful at changing long-term outcomes among disadvantaged children and their families: delivering a wide array of services, building relationship of trust and respect, dealing with children as part of a family, and responding to those most at risk. Suggests ways to overcome barriers to multiplying…

Under the Post-Primary Project, Trinidad and Tobago may legitimately claim to have achieved some educational expansion under difficult economic circumstances. Although top-down curriculum management and a strong remediation emphasis limited program success, the school clustering concept, along with increased vocational training, offers a promising…

Describes a study investigating the effects of the Developing Understanding of Self and Others (DUSO-R) program and relaxation/imagery training on the self-esteem of economically disadvantaged fourth graders. Data analysis indicated that the DUSO-R effectively elevated students' feelings of self-esteem and global self-worth and acted as an…

The New Jersey Supreme Court has significantly redefined the state's constitutional obligation to poor, urban children--providing a "thorough and efficient" education geared to a post-industrial economy. Measures have shifted from expenditures to provision of resources to meet state curriculum standards. The problem: ensuring adequate…

Study of Upward Bound programs, designed to help disadvantaged high school students attend and succeed in college, finds participants have higher educational expectations and college-preparatory achievement than do nonparticipants; Hispanic students and students with initially lower expectations benefit most; there is no impact on students' high…

As the United States grows more ethnically diverse, traditional school-integration tools are becoming less potent. Restoration of Horace Mann's common school represents the single best way to promote equal educational opportunity. Controlled public-school choice (via specialty schools) is the best way to achieve socioeconomic integration.…