Although urban public school educators are not achieving optimal results, there is no evidence that for-profit educational companies will do any better or possess special expertise in educating poor students of color. Education Alternatives, Inc. has trouble retaining low-paid nonunion paraprofessionals and has cut out minority contractors. The…

In a question-and-answer session, David C. Berliner discusses wide range of topics related to current state of the teaching profession, including qualities of the expert teacher, attracting higher quality teachers, teacher career-stage programs, merit pay, and promising reforms for teacher education in last decade. (PKP)

This article details the content of a recently released report from the Children's Partnership titled "Measuring Digital Opportunity for America's Children: Where We Stand and Where We Go From Here". On the basis of 40 indicators, the report's Digital Opportunity Measuring Stick showed how U.S. children and young adults use information…

The Yale Child Study Center collaborated with the New Haven School System and initiated a school improvement plan that was successful in improving schools for low income, perdominantly minority children. It used principles from behavioral and social sciences to change the social systems under which the schools operated. (MD)

For years, College Board has been promoting and publicizing necessary pathways to postsecondary education. Even bolder step is EQUITY 2000--demanding program of prealgebra, algebra, and geometry designed to ensure minority students' success in vigorous high school mathematics programs. Pacesetter initiative aims to make high-standards curriculum,…

A Maine study found that homework often disrupts family life, interferes with parents' own teachings, and punishes children in poverty for lacking computer access and/or a supportive home environment. The standards movement requires teaching in a more tightly controlled system, leaving no room for homework, an unknown variable. (Contains 13…

To make standards inclusive for today's diverse student populations, educators must support and cultivate five conditions. Standards should be developmental and flexible, employ varied assessment tools, allow equitable access to meaningful content, involve the entire community in their implementation, and serve as a catalyst for other reforms.…

Describes Chicago magnet school's use of seminar discussion and classroom dialogue to nurture students' active engagement in the learning process. Draws on experience at a public magnet school in Chicago with a student population that is largely poor and minority. (Contains 10 references.) (PKP)

Research that studied 120 youth organizations in 34 different communities discovered that most disadvantaged participants gained academic life skills lasting into early adulthood. Schools can help by sharing space and facilities, establishing institutional collaborations, connecting mutual goals, supporting teacher participation, and developing…

Outlines the most current statistics and demographics on the increase in poverty since 1980 in the United States, the increase of single parent families headed by women, and the increasing number of children who live in poverty (currently 21 percent). The reasons for the increased poverty are cited as due to government neglect. (MD)

As student populations become more diverse, the teacher population is becoming less so. Minorities are not pursuing teaching careers due to inadequate academic preparation and high college costs. Needed are career incentives, improved recruitment strategies, restructured preparation programs, identification and mentoring programs, and enhanced…

Notes the schools' sorry record at promoting the achievement and participation of Black, Hispanic, and poor children--the sector providing most of tomorrow's students. Explores misconceptions about learning and individual differences, condemns grouping and tracking processes for restricting students' access to knowledge, and suggests alternative…

The author's experiences as an urban school parent have convinced her that democratic commitments to school equity are central to creating appropriate and fair school choice. Three issues deserve educators' attention: the mixed results of voluntary desegregation programs, political and social agendas affecting public schooling, and the continuing…

Nothing is distributed evenly. Only 5 states will have a 20 percent enrollment increase; enrollments will decline in eastern central cities. The nature of race is changing, students are increasingly mobile, and the population is aging. Teachers must accommodate varied student backgrounds, needs, and world views. (MLH)

The Central Valley (California) Educational Research Consortium asked 118 area principals what they were doing to improve their lowest achieving students' education. Respondents are focusing on individualizing instruction, aligning curricula to standards, advocating teaching to standards and tests, promoting new curriculum methodologies, and…