This ERIC Digest reviews the school restructuring tool of career academies serving the non-college bound student. The career academy movement began with the Electrical Academy in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The model was exported to California where it became the basis for the Peninsula Academies in the Sequoia Union High School District and from…

This digest summarizes a larger document of the same title which examines early intervention programs providing services and resources to encourage low-income/minority youth to finish high school and enter college. It notes provisions of federal law which encourage such programs and the unifying mission of the National Early Intervention…

Research on microcomputers in education suggests that this new technology may be widening the gap between rich and poor schools and talented and underachieving students. Public schools in poor districts and small parochial schools are the least likely to own computers. One survey indicates that while 66 percent of affluent school districts have…

This ERIC Digest reviews research data on young urban, low income, and often minority parents and their involvement in schooling for themselves and their children. A look at the demographics of this subgroup shows that families headed by single teenage mothers comprise the fastest growing category of family groups, particularly among African…

Many American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) youth are repeatedly exposed to opportunities to participate in self-destructive and illegal behaviors. This digest examines risk factors associated with four contexts: peers, family, school, and community. Recent research has shown that, relative to national averages, AI/AN youth have higher rates of…

The assessment and placement of language minority students remain among the most serious problems facing schools today. As of 1990, 14 percent of the school-aged population in the United States comes from language minority backgrounds. Significant numbers of these students are not being properly identified by educators. Assessment procedures in a…

Educators are considering ways to help youth identified as "at-risk" succeed in school and beyond. Alternative programs (AP) can be effective environments for students who may not fit the mainstream mold and need additional support. Effective AP use a holistic approach that encompasses social, academic, psychological and career-related…