Researchers and policymakers agree that teachers' expectations of what their students can do can become self-fulfilling prophecies for children's academic performance. Yet while the "soft bigotry of low expectations" has become an education catchphrase, scholars and advocates are just beginning to explore whether it is possible to…

When it comes to educational challenges, the nation's 12.1 million Hispanic schoolchildren face plenty: language, poverty, lower-than-average graduation rates for high school and college, and, more recently, a wave of laws targeting illegal immigrants that has made school seem like less of a safe haven for Hispanic students in some states. Yet, as…

Overwhelming evidence shows that family involvement--both in school and at home--has a positive impact on student achievement. Researchers have found that parental involvement tends to drop off when students enter middle school. Research also shows that does not have to be the case. In this article, the author discusses the school-family-community…