Describes the development and structure of Mujeres Unidas en Accion, Inc., a nonprofit community-based agency in Dorchester, Massachusetts, that offers educational programs to low-income Latina women, and looks closely at one of its educational components, the Spanish program. (Author/JOW)

Six years after passage of No Child Left Behind and midway to the nation's goal of having students on grade level or better in reading and math by 2014, more data than ever before has been collected about the academic performance of American students and schools. Information in this brochure charts student demographics, achievement-to-date and…

Four papers concerning the Lawrence (Massachusetts) Literacy Coalition, a consortium of 12 two- and four-year colleges supporting adult literacy activities in the region, are presented. The first paper offers an overview of the coalition, including the reasons for its formation, a definition of literacy, the scope of the coalition's work, and…

Hispanic, Cape Verdean, and Haitian students, unlike European immigrant children, do not have equal educational opportunity in Massachusetts public schools. Bilingual education alone is insufficient to prepare students for the challenges they must meet in order to take advantage of opportunities available in secondary and higher education. (GC)

Twenty years ago, Middlesex Community College (MCC) in Massachusetts decided to add a global focus to its programs. Since then, the college has garnered worldwide recognition for the range of international initiatives it has integrated into its curriculum across academic disciplines. Today, Middlesex offers unique opportunities for international…

Describes the use of sociograms and computer analysis of sociometric data in order to evaluate the progress of Springfield, Massachusetts, public schools toward racial integration. Also shows how these techniques can be used to encourage racial integration at the classroom level. (GC)

The purpose of the present study was to examine the construct validity and reliability of the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18) in 1,115 low-income Latina mothers. Exploratory factor analyses conducted in half of the sample supported a one-factor solution, which was subsequently confirmed in the remainder of the sample using confirmatory factor…

From President Bush on down, the pressure is on to fix America's high schools. Despite a broad consensus that something is seriously wrong with the institution, deep fault lines remain about the remedies. Part of the reluctance to address high schools has been their complexity. The sheer size, departmental structure, mission creep, and other…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states submit accountability plans to the U.S. Department of Education detailing the rules and…

The intent of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 is to hold schools accountable for ensuring that all their students achieve mastery in reading and math, with a particular focus on groups that have traditionally been left behind. Under NCLB, states have leeway to: (1) Craft their own academic standards, select their own tests, and define…

The paper discusses the issue of educational equity, principles of systems analysis, systems approaches in the educational milieu, the evaluation aspect of the systems approach, and application of the systems approach to preventing disproportionate enrollment of Hispanics and Blacks in special education classes in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The…

Describes a successful plan to reduce the racial isolation of Massachusetts school in a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood. Ascribes the school's successful magnet minority enrollment largely to parental involvement. Offers examples of academic improvement among children attending the school. (RDN)

Analysis of 12 interagency collaboration projects conducted by the Hispanic Program of the Worcester (Massachusetts) Youth Guidance Center reveals how this unorthodox method of service delivery can increase resources to U.S. Hispanic populations and identifies factors which hinder or facilitate the success of such projects. (SB)

Describes a six-week curriculum unit to assist Hispanic immigrant students entering mainstream urban elementary classrooms. Emphasizes interviewing activities that "empower" the new student and heterogeneous group activities that break down prejudice among the mainstream students. (FMW)

This report presents trial school-district-level results of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics 2003, 2005, and 2007 assessments at grades 4 and 8 for 10 urban public-school districts: Atlanta City School District; Austin Independent School District (ISD); Boston School District; Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools; City…