This Program Focus discusses the strategies of the Beacon Community Center Program (the Beacons), the history of its crime prevention programs, and general operations. It focuses on the activities of one particular program, Red Hook in Brooklyn (New York City), before analyzing the Beacons' potential for preventing crime. A core concept of the…

This book is a defense of remedial affirmative action and an assertion that it is a policy that is a fair and workable solution to the chronic problem of racial caste in the United States. The personal narrative of the author, eighth of 10 children born to a single mother on public assistance, is combined with the discussion of American history…

In April 1994, the U.S. Department of Labor initiated a systemwide dialogue to identify ways of improving job training and employment preparation for economically disadvantaged individuals. The dialogue process was intended to help achieve broad consensus among system partners and serve as a model of ongoing communication to ensure continuous…

Geared primarily toward the black community and published by the Children's Defense Fund, this report provides background materials and statistical data which communicate the status of black children in America and what can be done to improve it. There are 3 sections in the report. Part 1 describes the conditions of black children and the…

Children in America are in crisis. As citizens, child care professionals can write letters to and apply political pressure on elected officials, galvanizing them to improve the lives of young children and their families. In the field of education, action is needed to: (1) provide human development curricula in elementary schools; (2) link…

SHELCOM, an adult education project in homeless shelters in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, investigated the effects of using computer technology on participants' writing and communication skills. The project consisted of 2-hour workshops, twice weekly, complemented by online support and instruction. Learners paired across the city worked on creating…

This report uses national and case-study data to address the degree to which limited-English-proficient (LEP) students are served by Chapter 1 programs. Although nationally the ethnic distribution of Chapter 1 funds has paralleled trends in the child-poverty population, there is great variation at the state and school-district level in the…

This report examines the provisions of the School-to-Work Opportunities Act and describes the steps that have been taken thus far to establish an Ohio system. It discusses the general features that must be included in Ohio's school-to-work system and the strategies around which Ohio's school-to-work plans are being structured. Recommendations are…

African Americans are experiencing extreme stress in the United States, and African-American males appear to suffer the most. The chapters in this volume examine some of the issues confronting African-American men today. They include: (1) "Introduction" (Dionne J. Jones); (2) "Reaffirming Young African American Males: Mentoring and…

Born in the aftermath of social upheaval in 1970, Servol (Service Volunteered for All) is a grassroots community development organization working with preschoolers and adolescents in the Caribbean nations of Trinidad and Tobago. This booklet describes the efforts and successes of this program, founded through the intervention of a Catholic priest…

This book tells the stories of four urban middle schools that have undergone deep transformation while participating in the Middle Grades Improvement Program (MGIP), an initiative that has nurtured fundamental change in school climate, structure and classroom practice in 16 urban districts and 65 schools in Indiana. The support of the Lilly…

Using its Academic Excellence Indicator System, Texas has labeled some schools as low performers, giving them a "Priority One" rating for improvement. Principals of low-performing campuses were interviewed to assess the condition of these campuses as communities of learners working to remove the Priority One label. All of the 6 subject…

In 1963 Catholic leaders in New York (New York) began the Higher Achievement Program (HAP), a high-school based, 6-week college preparatory program for boys from low-income families that takes place in the summer after seventh grade. Academic study in the morning is followed by athletics, field trips, and other social or artistic activities in the…

Since the mid 1960s a number of affluent white schools, both public and private, have made efforts to include low-income students of color in their student bodies. Data on the attainment, professional status, and income of these students do not address the ambivalence many experience in white middle-class institutions. Those who have examined the…

This brief discusses issues of school finance equity as they relate to resources and services provided to special education students. It uses information obtained from a recent study of Chapter 1, which examined educational resources and expenditures in 95 elementary schools in 30 school districts across 5 states. The schools had students with…