This article provides an overview of America's urban population based on the 2000 Census and the implications of increasing cultural diversity for urban public schools. It addresses three basic questions: 1. What does America's population look like at the beginning of the 21st century? 2. What challenges do children and their families face in this…

Five students from a Boston high school and 35 from Lincoln-Sudbury took part in an alternate semester consisting of 5 units: Outward Bound, environmental issues, urban, rural, and river/building. Students had to be juniors or seniors, have parental permission, and meet graduation requirements. The alternate semester began with Outward Bound, a…

In the third year of Lincoln-Sudbury's Alternate Semester program, 22 students participated, with 2 teachers sharing responsibilities in a new program format: a fall planning unit; a 10-day stay in Grafton, Vermont; a 15-week period spent alone or in small groups, working and living in urban and/or rural settings for modules of time dictated by…

In 1979 a project was undertaken to evaluate the Institute of Study for Older Adults (ISOA) Liberal Arts program, a unit of the City University of New York which provides noncredit, off-campus liberal arts classes for the elderly poor of New York City. The evaluation sought to determine the demographic characteristics of program participants; the…

This document is one of a series of reports based on the Special Education Expenditure Project, a study of the nation's spending on special education and related services based on analysis of data for the 1999-2000 school year. This report focuses on general patterns of variation in total spending on special education students across districts…

The study described in this book was designed by the Southwest Regional Laboratory as part of a proposal to create a Metropolitan Center for the Far West Laboratory. The Center would focus on the challenges facing urban educators in its service area. Metropolitan school districts, characterized by high numbers of minority students, successfully…

In May 1996, the Education Commission of the United States, with the support of the Charles A. Dana Foundation, convened a 2-day meeting in Austin (Texas) to focus on urban school district reform and restructuring. Participants, who included state policymakers, superintendents of several urban school systems, and a number of education researchers…

Public and private school collaboration is one approach to educational reform that may be working in many schools across the country. The Forum for Public and Private Collaboration is committed to publicizing successful collaborative efforts while providing an outlet for educators involved in collaboration to share ideas and receive help. The…

Prominent Americans were asked to reflect on the diversity challenge facing America's teacher workforce. The following leaders from several fields voiced their support of teachers and their beliefs America needs more diverse and culturally responsive teachers: (1) Mary Hatwood Futrell, President of Education International; (2) Carol Moseley-Braun,…

Articles in this theme issue explore pathways into teaching, focusing on programs that recruit future teachers, and specifically on programs that target minority future teachers. "Pathways to Teaching: Building Quality and Diversity in America's Schools" by Segun Eubanks introduces a number of programs that are drawing from populations…

Chicago's mastery learning program takes into account the complexities of reading and the realities of urban classrooms. Its designers say that if a program does not lead to success, it is not a mastery learning program. (Author/JM)

Reviews the historical development of multicultural education in Toronto (Ontario), and considers the relevance of different models. Argues that present educational policy continues to preserve an Anglo-Saxon hegemony. (FMW)

A study evaluated the Chapter 1 Reading Program that served 5,946 underachieving pupils in grades 1 through 8 in the Columbus, Ohio, public schools. These children appeared unlikely to learn to read successfully without additional reading instruction. The program featured small group instruction each day for 40-45 minutes on reading and writing…

In 1988, the Annie E. Casey Foundation began New Futures, an 5-year initiative aimed at preparing disadvantaged urban youth for successful lives as adults. Through grants to five mid-sized cities, the Casey Foundation sought to encourage a fundamental restructuring of the way these communities planned, financed, and delivered educational, health,…

An action research study described and evaluated a classroom lending library that was rich in developmentally appropriate literacy material and was designed to facilitate communication between the child's school and home. The kindergarten classroom was located in the southwestern area of Baltimore, Maryland. The children themselves staffed the…