This report presents the conditions of children of color in the state of Washington, with statistics about economic support, health, and safety. Comments from leaders of color and other true stories help explain the situations reflected by the numerical data. It is important to note that most children of color in Washington live in solid families…

Alternative schools are defined in this report as schools or programs targeting students who are unsuccessful in the traditional school environment. These schools often see their mission as one of dropout prevention. Certain features are usually associated with alternative schools, including a clear mission, a small enrollment, a more personal…

Teachers, parents, and older students need to understand the mechanisms that have subverted honest efforts to give working class children in the United States a decent education. This book discusses why this has happened and suggests ways to develop a pedagogy that makes progressive methods, education that empowers, and powerful literacy possible…

This article describes the design and implementation, within a culturally sensitive context, of a multiservice, community-based counseling intervention aimed at promoting personal and career development of urban, African American youth. Components of this program can be adapted in planning future developmental interventions with this particular…

Describes a bookstore established for and run by students at an elementary school in New York City. Students are paid for work as cashiers and store personnel with certificates for free books. An editor's note describes the growth of the program, which now buys in volume and supplies many schools around the country. (SLD)

Describes a program of research known as "Fostering Communities of Learners" that aims to improve the literacy skills and domain-area subject matter knowledge of inner-city students aged 6 to 12 years. The program builds on children's emergent strategic and metacognitive knowledge. (SLD)

Describes the early experience of Texas with charter schools, which have been promoted as a way to restructure urban education through schools that are smaller, less bureaucratized, and more attuned to student and community needs. Discusses barriers to charter-school success and prospects for urban-school reform if charter schools are not…

Describes two critical dimensions of work-based learning (WBL), firm-based versus school-based, and "learn-and-stay" versus "learn-and-go." Recommendations are offered for the design of new WBL in the light of empirical findings on the employment patterns of young people as they grow older. (SLD)

Explores the role of charter schools and explains why the charter movement is so promising for transforming U.S. education, particularly in urban areas. Addresses three common objections to charter schools and asserts that charter schools can serve the needs of at-risk and disabled students. (SLD)

Julius Bennett was once a disinterested student destined to become a dropout. Then he enrolled in Amistad Academy, an academically focused charter middle school intent on narrowing the achievement gap between urban and suburban kids located in New Haven, Connecticut. Now Julius is making plans for college. In this article the author details the…

School choice for poor children is likely to be an issue in many state and congressional races. Lawmakers and parents need to pay close attention to the quality of academic evaluations of school choice programs. Evaluations of the program in Milwaukee (Wisconsin) provide a case in point. In 1990, Milwaukee instituted the nation's first publicly…

This report is a review of development education and the black and ethnic minority communities in Great Britain. The development education movement in the United Kingdom has been based on producing resources, training, and support to the deliverers of education, whether teachers, youth workers, or community organizers. A feature of the movement…

This book examines the policies and practices that create educational inequality in the United States and what can be done to reduce their influence. The introduction identifies children who are disadvantaged by the U.S. educational system, and documents the results of society's failure to serve them properly. Part One, which contains four…

A conference in Washington, D.C., brought together leaders from six communities to share their strategies to mobilize residents to fight substance abuse problems. The actions taken by community groups and leaders in the following cities are described: Portland (Oregon); Hampton (Virginia); Baltimore (Maryland); New Haven (Connecticut); Newark (New…

What is "action research" and how is it relevant to urban youth activists? Action research is a systematic process of inquiry, which involves gathering information about an issue or problem, analyzing the findings, and developing practical plans for affecting positive change. It is motivated by the desire to investigate in order to better…