The purpose of the Sylacauga, Alabama, exemplary program, reported for the period from July 1, 1970 to June 30, 1973, was to demonstrate practices found effective for working with socioeconomically disadvantaged and other dropout-prone students. Program objectives were to provide: (1) student counseling services to help appraise interests,…

This discussion of improving the values of youth focuses on school-business programs for disadvantaged students. Highlights include mentoring programs; a project in Boston, the Boston Compact, that provides jobs for students who graduate; and a review of business policies that encourage positive values among employees. (LRW)

This booklet presents information on the achievement gaps in education between white, Asian, and economically advantaged students and their African American, Hispanic, Native American, and economically disadvantaged peers. It provides examples from higher education, district, and school levels and summarizes available resources and tools to help…

To create a model linking Title I and service learning, researchers conducted: (1) focus groups with service learning and Title I practitioners to determine their understanding of practices promoting authentic learning for disadvantaged students; (2) a literature review on effective education for disadvantaged children and a study of relationships…

Describes summer school sessions developed by Houston schools to improve performance of academically at-risk eighth graders on the Texas Educational Assessment of Minimum Skills (TEAMS). Highlights include content area lessons in language arts and mathematics; study and test-taking skills; multimedia instructional materials; and student and…

A framework is presented for discussion of resilience, schooling, and development among African-American youth in the 11 other articles in this issue. Protective processes are crossed with critical intervention points for the development of resilience. Each article discusses one or more processes as intervention points. (SLD)

To enhance reform under the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA), the University of Louisville has initiated the Housing and Neighborhood Development Strategies (HANDS) project linking education reform with the Louisville community. HANDS is an innovative and pragmatic partnership of businesses, government, universities, the school system, and…

The young people quoted in this paper attend two high schools in Umlazi Township, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. Poverty is rife in the area: some students are known to go five days at a stretch without food. Parts of the vast, sprawling township are notorious for shootings and violent crime. The rape of schoolgirls on their way to and from school…

The author considers whether differences in genetic endowment may account for racial and ethnic differences in school readiness. While acknowledging an important role for genes in explaining differences "within" races, he nevertheless argues that environment explains most of the gap "between" blacks and whites, leaving little role for genetics.…

Compelling evidence from neuroscience about how early relationships and experience influence the architecture of the brain, and in turn early school success, has led to increasing policy and practice attention to implementing child development and family support programs like Early Head Start for infants and toddlers. But, there is also a group of…

In her first year as superintendent of the Atlanta Public Schools, Beverly Hall encountered what she describes as the nearly universal disbelief that poor children of color can achieve high levels of learning. This chapter recounts how she confronted this and other obstacles and challenges as the new leader of the Atlanta Public Schools. Hall is…

This report examines the Chapter 1 program's impact at school and classroom levels, strategic directions for Chapter 1 reauthorization, the larger context of school poverty as it influences Chapter 1 delivery, the operation and effectiveness of Chapter 1, and new directions for improving Chapter 1 in line with national reforms. How well Chapter 1…

Chapters in this volume describe and analyze distinct types of programs that seek to promote knowledge, competence, and a sense of belonging for diverse youth in environments that permit children's socialization and learning. The following chapters are included: (1) "Development and Context and the Contexts of Learning" (Francisco A. Villarruel…

The Phi Delta Kappa Study of Students At Risk assessed who is at risk, what puts students at risk, what schools are doing to help those students, and how effective these efforts are. Data were collected about 21,706 students, 9,652 teachers, and 276 principals; 65 case studies were completed; and holding power data about 27,250 students in 95 high…

This fact sheet on Hispanic American education in the United States in 1993 offers information on families, spending, school to work transitions, and education at preschool through college levels. The Hispanic population is growing much faster than the rest of the population, and by 1990 it comprised 9 percent of the national population. The…