This document presents information on the Blue Springs School District's Student Assistance Program (SAP) designed to address the social and family issues that affect students' academic performance. The Blue Springs SAP began in fall 1986, evolved rapidly, and in 1992 was in 18 building sites. In 1994 the program developed links with the Blue…

The Personnel Preparation Curriculum is a collaborative consultative model for training professionals, including Head Start teachers, parents, and paraprofessionals, to work with families to address the educational needs of children. The activity-based model views families as being in charge, and professionals as partners with parents. Six…

A simple, but useful, handout given to mothers of young children can greatly increase the likelihood that they will present aspects of emergent literacy in their homes. The concept of emergent literacy states that all literacy learning begins in infancy and proceeds forward from that point, and that all of the literacy skills of oral language,…

This paper describes the District of Columbia's system for tracking at-risk and disabled infants during their first 3 years of life. The project involves a computerized system for following the developmental progress of at-risk infants identified at birth or other times. The project monitors the activities of children within various service…

Nationwide attention to the problems of teenage pregnancy and suicide, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS), substance abuse, domestic violence, child abuse, dropping out of school, and other conditions is resulting in a proliferation of primary prevention programs, projects, and activities. In too many communities, however, the growth of…

This study examined both maternal and child interaction styles, focusing on the association between differences in maternal level and quality of involvement and the synchrony and affective quality of child interaction behaviors. The subjects were 55 mother-child dyads in which the children (ages 2-5) had been referred to a mental health center…

Guidelines are presented for incorporating screening and assessment into a sequential and comprehensive model of preschool intervention services. At-risk children who may receive intervention services and an ecological intervention model are described. Three categories of children may benefit from services of early intervention programs: children…

In this paper, an overview of children's psychological processes is presented within the context of adoption, foster care, or other type of placement which requires the child to develop the coping skills necessary to continue toward optimal growth psychologically, cognitively, and socially. Findings from a research review indicate that children…

Efforts at one high school to reconsider its practices of ability grouping and explore alternative assessment and grouping practices are described. Assessment of the schools' practices found that students in lower ability groups had a less stimulating curriculum, fewer positive role models, lower motivation, lower expectations for themselves, and…