In this report, the authors identify public schools whose doors are effectively closed to poor children. These institutions--generally found in wealthy urban enclaves or well-heeled suburbs--educate many of the children of America's elite while proudly waving the "public school" flag. But they hardly embody the "common school" ideal. In fact, by…

The current economic environment has impacted American families and the schools their children attend. Families are dealing with joblessness, increased poverty and hunger, less access to medical care, increased mental health issues, and greater instability in the family unit. Schools work with more and more students from families dealing with…

"Child Care Helps America Work and Learn" is a new publication produced by the Child Care Bureau. This new series will highlight some of the many Recovery Act-funded child care success stories from communities across the country that illustrate how the Bureau is working toward the shared goal of supporting children and families. This…

The Annual Disability Status Reports provide policy makers, disability advocates, reporters, and the public with a summary of the most recent demographic and economic statistics on the non-institutionalized population with disabilities. They contain information on the population size and disability prevalence for various demographic…

Decades of research show that quality pre-kindergarten programs can make a critical difference in children's school readiness and their future educational success. Investments in early learning are proven to yield important short- and long-term benefits for students and school districts. Driven by this strong evidence, the movement to expand…

High quality teaching is critical to student learning, yet takes considerable time to develop in particular content areas. Students in high-poverty, urban settings are less likely to encounter experienced and trained teachers. Administrators from a large school district and university mathematics education faculty partnered and attempted to…

English education policy has increasingly focused on the need to intervene in an intergenerational cycle of poverty and low attainment. The accompanying policy discourse has tended to emphasise the impact of family background on educational outcomes. However, as the capacity of parents to secure positive educational outcomes for their children is…

In the 1969 inaugural issue of the "School Health Review", Douglass J.H. examined four major issues he felt were central to the question of choices one has about health: (1) problems with health care delivery methods; (2) persistent poverty in our population and its impact on health; (3) systemic problems inherent in social and institutional…

Educators must develop effective ways of interacting and working with students of diverse backgrounds. In this 2-year study, home visits were utilized to build a stronger, more impactful learning community for all stakeholders. Participants included 2 school leaders, 1 school social worker, 9 teachers, 2 parents, and 4 elementary children. The…

Objective: The aim of this article is to revisit the subject of the implementation of the 1989 United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child in Africa. Specifically, the article is an update to a previous article titled "Implementing the 1989 United Nations' Convention on the Rights of the Child in sub-Saharan Africa: The Overlooked…

Over the past few decades, undocumented settlement in the United States has grown to unprecedented numbers. Among the nearly 12 million undocumented immigrants, a substantial portion of undocumented youth is growing up with legal access to public education through high school but facing legal restrictions and economic barriers to higher education…

Analyzing long-term demographic data from the Schools and Staffing Survey, Ingersoll and Merrill found a number of intriguing trends in the teaching force that they say "appear to have been little noticed by researchers, policymakers, and the public." The number of teachers, they write, is growing at a rate that far outpaces increases in student…

Low-income and ethnic minority women have been described as at risk for experiencing depression during and around the time of pregnancy, a finding complicated by low levels of mental health service use within this population. This study retrospectively examined data from a community-based perinatal depression project targeting low-income women in…

The purpose of this qualitative participatory action research study was multi-fold: first, to identify the ecological factors which impede and promote health and well-being among orphaned and abandoned children in Sierra Leone; second, to facilitate Photovoice, a participatory action research method, among NGO workers to identify barriers to…

A study of protective factors against substance use and sexual risk taking was conducted among 610 high-poverty urban youth. Higher levels of family attachment, social support, involvement, and self-esteem were associated with lower levels of risk behaviors. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)