The purpose of this annotated bibliography is to identify and summarize research on the scope, characteristics and impact of academic and social support services for students. Several reports on academic rigor have also been included to establish a context for the importance of social and academic support. The bibliography is divided into five…

Background/Context: Studies carried out over the last two decades have established structured after-school programs as significant contexts for adolescent development. Recent large-scale evaluations of after-school initiatives have yielded mixed results, finding some impact on adolescents' attitudes toward school but limited impact on their…

The role of relational (i.e., parent, peer, teacher) support as a predictor of identity status was assessed using a sample of 635 early adolescents from an ethnically diverse, low-income school district. Identity status was measured using the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status. Multivariate regression analyses suggested that parental support…

This article discusses the design and implementation of a grassroots culturally and linguistically sensitive program designed to promote the pursuit of higher education among Latino youth. Latinos en Camino al Exito Universitario is an example of a culturally responsive program delivered out of a university counseling center as part of the…

In order to comply with the New York State Education Department's (2000) recertification mandates for teacher education programs, the reading clinic of the Master of Science in Literacy Education program at Dowling College, Oakdale, New York was moved to a high-needs school district. This school district was seriously deficient in its pass rate on…

Eight gifted and eight general-education students engaged in discussions regarding their observations of, experiences in, and recommendations for education. Six categories emerged through qualitative analysis of their conversations. These categories include: problem solving, task commitment, self-perceptions, education, communication, and…

The purpose of this study is to examine whether teachers' perceptions of educational value discontinuity are predictive of the psychological antecedents of academic performance (e.g., academic engagement and academic self-efficacy) during middle school. Educational value discontinuity is defined as the difference between teachers' actual…

Millions of Americans suffer from chronic physical illness. The U.S.-Mexico border region has significantly higher rates of infectious and communicable diseases than other areas of the nation. The purpose of this study was to assess the effects of a comprehensive culturally relevant health risk prevention program on Hispanic youth and their…

This study was conducted to examine the characteristics of middle schools in which Latino students from low-income families made substantial achievement gains. Nine schools in Texas were selected where Latino students had shown strong gains in the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills. Data from onsite interviews, focus groups, and documents were…

This study examines tracking--the practice of grouping students into separate classes or courses based on their prior academic achievement--at the middle-school level, and the percentage of high-achieving students in tracked and untracked schools. It focuses on Massachusetts, a leader in "reforming" tracking, and the changes that have…

As of October 2007, 54 interdistrict magnet schools enrolling 18,928 students were operating in Connecticut. The bulk of these schools are located in the Hartford and New Haven areas--21 in the Hartford area and 17 in the New Haven area. Interdistrict magnets also serve significant numbers of students in the Waterbury region. In keeping with the…

This report describes an art-based intervention program with at-risk youth that was inspired by the Project Self-Discovery model (Milkman, Wanberg, & Robinson, 1996). Twelve middle-school students from a small city in a mid-Atlantic state participated in the program. The program goals included making art in order to empower the participants…

Many teachers find themselves working with ELLs in content-area classes without the arsenal of tools and training that will help them help their students. This is a recounting of how one teacher, with the help of thoughtful observers and a commitment to teaching all of her students, worked to create strategies that improved language learners'…

The purpose of this working paper is to review current literature on literacy programs for parents of English language learners (ELLs). The paper includes a summary of five literacy programs for ELL parents throughout the United States of America. Four of these were system-wide interventions affecting more than one school or classroom. Each…

This study describes perspectives of participants in a substance abuse and HIV prevention (HIVP) program targeted to middle school students and families in an urban Phoenix, Arizona, school district. Data collection and analyses complement past quasi-experimental, pre/post designs which found the program to be successful in terms of increasing…