The Knowledge Is Power Program (KIPP) is a bold effort to create a network of charter schools designed to transform and improve the educational opportunities available to low/income families. KIPP schools seek to actively engage students and parents in the educational process, expand the time and effort students devote to their studies, reinforce…

Social scientists have increasingly come to recognize the informal economy as a prominent and permanent structural feature of modern society. Rural sociologists have made a considerable contribution to this literature, demonstrating informal work to factor prominently in the livelihood strategies of rural Americans. Despite this scholarly…

This year's annual report of Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) celebrates the continuing expansion of opportunities for high-quality education and career preparation available to Philadelphia youth. These opportunities--offered by an ever-growing set of partners and program providers--are present in neighborhoods and communities all across the…

Parochial and private schools in the United States have maintained opportunities for students to attend same-gender settings without interference from policies governing public education. The gender composition and curriculum of public schools, however, have been influenced by societal regulations and expectations that have often utilized…

All of today's young people need a rigorous academic program that prepares them for college and career success. But a growing body of research also suggests that low-income, high-risk teens who have opportunities to gain work experience and to connect education and work during high school are likely to do better in school and earn more throughout…

Each year, more than 8,200 young Philadelphians drop out of school. The first step to a solution, taken in 2005, was the gathering and examination of data to truly understand the dimensions of the problem and the characteristics of struggling students and out-of-school Philadelphia youth. These studies, conducted by researchers at the University…

Student vocational interest and agricultural business surveys were conducted in Berks County, Pennsylvania to gauge career opportunities in off-farm agricultural occupations. The seven categories of businesses surveyed included agriculture supplies, agriculture mechanics, horticulture mechanics, floriculture, landscaping, turf, and garden center…

While college enrollment rates have increased over the last 40 years, gaps still exist across groups. College enrollment rates are lower for high school graduates whose parents have not attended college, those with low-incomes, as well as Black and Latino/a students than for other high school graduates. One source of differences across groups in…

The "Quantum Opportunity Program" ("QOP") is an intensive and comprehensive program for high school-aged youth that offers case management, mentoring, tutoring, and other education and support services. The program also offers financial incentives for participation in program activities. Participants enter "QOP" in…

Section A of this resource guide is designed to help students develop knowledge of their personal strengths and weaknesses and understand the relationship of these characteristics to educational and vocational choices. Each time students experience a work role, they should be encouraged to share with other students: (1) their observation of job…

THE PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE PRESENT AND FUTURE OF LOCAL RESIDENTS FOR POST-HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION, THE ABILITY OF EXISTING FACILITIES TO MEET THE NEEDS, FACTORS WHICH RESTRICT THE EDUCATIONAL OPPORTUNITIES, AND COURSES OF ACTION FOR MEETING LOCAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS. HIGH SCHOOL SENIORS, ADULTS, MAJOR EMPLOYERS IN BUCKS COUNTY, AND…

This article discusses the appointment of Dr. Drew Gilpin Faust as the first woman named president of Harvard University, which marks a diversity high point in the storied history of the nation's oldest university. At age 9, Faust famously wrote to U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower calling for an end to segregation. And in her current role as a…

In Spring 2007, the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation awarded funds to the Philadelphia Youth Network (PYN) to undertake an analysis of Career and Technical Education (CTE) in Philadelphia, and to make recommendations on how CTE and other forms of career-connected education could better align with Philadelphia standards for college and career…

This curriculum guide was developed to provide a model plan to help public high schools and area vocational-technical schools to initiate, or evaluate and improve, natural resource occupational preparation programs. It offers a curriculum plan which can be modified to meet particular needs and objectives which are career education oriented. This…

Using data from Pennsylvania career and technical education, six programs with the highest numbers of students with disabilities were compared with labor demand and entry-level wages. Although there is demand in the six areas, the low wages and status of these occupations raise questions about these workers' future quality of life. (Contains 39…