The Technology Immersion Pilot (TIP) sets forth a vision for technology immersion in Texas public schools that links ubiquitous access to technology with student achievement. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) directed nearly $14 million in federal Title II, Part D monies toward funding a wireless learning environment for high-need middle schools…

This paper first examines the impact of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 on the academic performance of Latino students in the U.S. Although the purpose behind NCLB is to help improve academic proficiency in the areas of reading, language arts, and mathematics, research demonstrates that there is still an achievement gap between…

A study focused on 41 eighth-grade students from a south Texas middle school who read self-selected books for 30-minute periods 5 times weekly from October 1996 to May 1997 to determine if increased reading time and book self-selection would improve their reading achievement. The study also sought to determine the students' attitudes towards…

Presents photos and basic information about a Texas middle school whose architecture reflects the hybrid culture of the borderlands and "regionalism" in which it is located. A line drawing of the site plan is included. (GR)

Service-learning is a teaching strategy used by Texas middle schools that combines classroom learning with community activities and where both students and teachers plan activities and projects that meet a well defined school or community need. These activities strengthen academic learning by addressing learning objectives, allowing students to…

An innovative English and Spanish instructional program for grades six through eight in a south Texas district integrates language and content areas, uses both languages, implements literacy strategies typical of elementary programs, accommodates varying Spanish and English proficiency and limited prior schooling, and employs Mexican teachers as…

The handbook helps orient teachers at the middle school level to the expected outcomes processes of a career education program. Topics covered are: career education objectives and concepts, classroom implementation, procedures for identifying and obtaining resource speakers, guidelines for use of community resource center, and evaluation…

The results of a study conducted by the Charles A. Dana Center at the University of Texas at Austin for the U.S. Department of Education during the 2001-02 school year showed that elements of the middle school concept can lead to improved student performance, even in high-poverty schools. This article describes common elements of the middle school…

More than $20 billion a year currently is being spent to construct public schools. Hundreds of billions are being spent to carry out public education. Everyone wants the best possible use of that money. Families want safe, nurturing, challenging, and effective schools for their children. Community members and policy-makers want schools to be…

The Texas Education Agency's (TEA's) state GEAR UP project--Texans Getting Academically Prepared (TGAP)--has provided interconnected activities supporting early awareness of and preparation for higher education among low-income and minority students, their families, and schools in six South Texas school districts. Over its six years, the state…

The author, a teacher at an Indiana middle school, describes how her Mexican ESL students took a stand and helped make a statement against racism. These students, who had a fascination with Asian culture, were indignant when they read an article about a street in Texas called "Jap Road." Adamant that the road name should be changed, the…

This study examined program participation and academic progress of second language learners, following a cohort of Texas public school students from the school years, 1992-93 to 1999-00 as they progressed through the elementary and middle grades. Researchers examined the following: changes in Texas policy related to students with limited English…

For several years physics faculty at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) have taught physics to pre-service elementary and middle school teachers in an unusual location: the local elementary school! The participating pre-service elementary and middle school teachers are typically in their last semester and are fully immersed in their…

This volume of Collaborative Partnerships between ESL and Classroom Teachers gives emphasis to collaborative partnerships in the middle and high school levels. Editors Faridah Pawan and Ginger Sietman gather expert authors who present us with models of classroom-based and school-based collaborative partnerships from middle and high schools across…

Effective school studies, for the most part, have focused on different individual school-level independent variables influencing student achievement and have largely neglected examining contextual variables within the school or school community that may evolve as a result of responding to statewide accountability pressures, including examining how…