This report illustrates how practitioners in The City University of New York's compensatory education programs are starting to realize that ethnicity, culture, and family heritage have a significant role in the educational and psychological development of students. It provides a compendium of the efforts made to apply cultural knowledge to the service of students in the following programs: (1) Search for Education, Elevation and Knowledge (SEEK); (2) the College Discovery Program (CD); and (3) the College Discovery and Development Program (CDDP). The report contains the following sections: (1) "Introduction" (Samuel D. Johnson, Jr.); (2) "Breaking the Silence: The Use of Folktales in the College-Level Composition Course" (June Bobb); (3) "Issues to Be Considered When Practicing Career Counseling with Adult Hispanic Students" (Lilia Rosado); (4) "Cultural Interference in Peer Tutoring Situations" (Janet Moser and Mark Patkowski); (5) "College and Career Guidance Workshop for At-Risk Hispanic High School Girls" (Carole Cilento); and (6) "Cultural Identity and Value Orientations of Island and Mainland Puerto Rican College Freshmen" (Diego Colon). Notes on contributors, five tables, and 42 references are included. (JS)