Noting that academic failure begins early and that the focus of school reform should be at the elementary level, this book describes the Basic School, an idea based on best practice in elementary education. A Basic School pushes school reform back to the first years of formal education; gives priority to language and suggests a coherent core of…

The term "doing hair" is utterly familiar. However, while the term can refer to simple acts of combing, brushing, washing, and styling hair, in the culture of adolescent African-American girls, doing hair is a social practice that represents power, creativity, and sometimes popularity. This article describes a three-month afterschool…

The Beacons Initiative aimed to transform eight public schools (five middle schools and three high schools) into youth and family centers in low-income neighborhoods in San Francisco, California. Using a coalition of local partners and funding from public agencies and foundations, the centers served 7,500 youth and adults between July 1, 1999, and…

This report examines effects of the Self-Sufficiency Project (SSP) for three age groups of children (younger cohort aged 3-5, middle cohort aged 6-11, and older cohort aged 12-18) at the 36-month interview. A companion report on effects of the SSP on adults is available separately. Chapter 1 describes the SSP incentive, project design, and SSP…

High rates of immigration, especially from Latin America, have created a large population of immigrant youth, many of whom are having difficulty in American schools. The central goals of our project were to assist in empowering students to find academic success and to foster a more bicultural identity. According to three perspectives (youth,…

Local governments are on the front line of responsibility for the welfare of children and families. Increased city efforts and collaboration on behalf of children and families were found by this survey of 780 cities conducted by the National League of Cities (NLC) during 1995. The survey found that nearly two out of three cities are involved in…

Recognizing the importance of and need for high quality after-school care for 5- to 14-year-olds, the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration commissioned a set of 9 School Age Care Technical Assistance Papers discussing the steps in designing high quality programs. This two-videotape set, based on those papers, provides guidance to…

During a typical week, as many as 14 million children and youth across the United States lack adult supervision during non-school hours. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), the lack of structured and supervised afterschool programs in American communities contributes to a higher incidence of drug and alcohol use and delinquent…

This publication offers the 56th Yearbook of the National Reading Conference (NRC). This Yearbook begins with a preface and presents profiles of three awardees, Michael C. McKenna, Douglas K. Hartman, and Michael Kamil. Included in this Yearbook are the following papers: (1) What's It All About? Literacy Research and Civic Responsibility (Victoria…

The first implementation year is reported of a Classical Greek magnet program at Paul Robeson Classical Studies Middle School in Kansas City, Missouri. The following program components are summarized: educational environment, community component, multi-cultural component, athletic and health components, personal value system, classics component,…

Today, many immigrant neighborhoods are plagued with poverty, inadequate schools, family disruption, single parenthood, teenage pregnancies, youth gangs, violent crimes, drug abuse and alcoholism, and anti-intellectual youth subcultures. Such unsettling environments put immigrant children of the inner city at greater risk than those living…

These two volumes constitute a set of modules for an individualized, competency-based training program intended to help the user acquire the skills and knowledge needed to provide a high-quality child care program for school-age children. The modules are intended for use by those just entering school-age care and by those who have been involved in…

The present bulletin deals with the evolution of the school auditorium, and presents recommendations for the planning of the auditorium, with particular reference to the stage, so that the auditorium can be used as a theater, concert hall, for forums, for motion pictures, and for radio programs. The auditorium is one of the most important units in…

Within the last decade the activity period has been adopted by an increasing number of high schools, even in those unaffected by bus transportation schedules. These schools believe it is a means for developing desirable civic and social activities for "all" pupils and for applying the "total" resources of school staff and…

The Commissioner of Education's Report on Violence, Vandalism and Substance Abuse in New Jersey Public Schools, submitted annually to the education committees of the Senate and Assembly, provides the Legislature with data in four broad incident categories: violence, vandalism, weapons, and substance abuse. The report also summarizes initiatives…