A good high school cultural arts program puts students' creative talents on display, allows them to demonstrate innovative thinking, and gives them direct and indirect exposure to careers in the cultural arts. A truly outstanding program goes even further to emulate real-world authentic artistic experiences and to create multidisciplinary artistic…

These "Stories From the Field" describe five Wallace-funded programs working to expand learning and enrichment for disadvantaged children, so they can benefit from the types of opportunities their wealthier counterparts have access to, from homework help to swimming classes. The report details each program's approach, successes and…

With the tuition cost of traditional colleges and universities soaring and education technology advancing, online courses and degree programs are becoming more common. Some critics argue that an online degree cannot provide all the important features of a traditional college education, from extracurricular activities to new professional networks,…

At colleges nationwide, students from diverse racial, cultural and socioeconomic backgrounds meet and befriend each other under the auspices of club sports. Adam Pruett, the recreational sports coordinator at the University of California, Los Angeles, says any cultural uneasiness is overcome by the students' shared passion for the particular…

Researchers have noted that the personal attributes of high school all-state participants have not been probed and have expressed surprise at this void in the music education literature (Cole, 1986; Fuller, 1989; Welker, 1997). The purpose of this study was to ascertain, through participant self-report data, the activities and accomplishments of…

Children benefit when their parents or caregivers are actively involved in their out-of-school learning. Yet a new report by the Harvard Family Research Project and United Way of Massachusetts Bay finds that only a quarter of programs surveyed had effectively incorporated families. This guide, funded by the Wallace Foundation under its Parents and…

A talent development project at Mount Holyoke College, part of A Better Chance (ABC)-Independent Schools Talent Search program, was offered during the summer of 1968 to 71 disadvantaged high school students from 13 states. Major aims of the program were to help these students with college potential to strengthen their academic skills and…

A SYNOPSIS IS OFFERED OF SIX DIFFERENT OUTWARD-BOUND PROGRAMS, EACH OF WHICH IS AN ADAPTATION OF THE BASIC OUTWARD-BOUND PHILOSOPHY OF HAVING YOUNG PEOPLE RECOGNIZE FOR THEMSELVES THEIR PHYSICAL, EMOTIONAL, AND SPIRITUAL CAPABILITIES SO THAT THEY WILL DEVELOP A STRONG SENSE OF SELF-RELIANCE AND INNER STRENGTH. THE ADAMS COUNTY, COLORADO,…

Explores some of the approaches used in one after-school program operating in seven sites in Massachusetts to provide an environment and build individual traits that lead to resilience in early adolescents. Describes four categories of voluntary activity clubs: the arts, including drama, photography, and dance; practical skills, including cooking,…

Massachusetts's Chapter 622 and U.S. Title IX regulations both prohibit discrimination by educational institutions. This guide is designed to assist administrators, particularly in Massachusetts, in complying fully with the spirit and letter of these regulations. The guide is divided into thirteen chapters, seven of which use parallel format to…

Profiles activities and exhibits at the Tsongas Industrial History Center and Lowell National Historical Park. Follows a group of students as they participate in a situation simulating 19th-century working conditions and subsequent union organizing. Includes two documents from a resource kit illustrating worker's lives. (MJP)

Seventeen Massachusetts programs involving schools and communities working together to support the educational success of linguistic minorities are described. The programs represent a cross-section of efforts in the state serving a variety of language groups. Program focuses include: (1) supplemental support and resources for Cambodian students;…

Extending the school day and year is not easy. The conventional calendar remains one of the most intractable features of the American educational system. Altering the traditional school schedule has significant ramifications for parents, students, teachers, and school administrators. This reform impacts student and family schedules, transportation…