This column presents and summarizes recent resources that discuss some problems and solutions related to elementary education in inner-city urban areas. (Contains 6 Web resources.)

The Community Achievement Project in the Schools (CAPS) is a public-private partnership between the United Way of New York City and the New York City Board of Education. As part of a dropout prevention initiative, CAPS is designed to integrate the services of community-based organizations and schools. The Teachers College of Columbia University…

The schoolwide projects conducted by two Muscogee County (Georgia) elementary schools under Chapter 1 are described. The Muscogee County School District is the public school system for Columbus, the state's second largest city. The student body of approximately 31,000 is 54.2 percent Black, with 2.9 percent Hispanic, and only a small number of…

This report presents an evaluation of a two-way bilingual program in English and Spanish at the Cunningham Elementary School (Texas). The program was designed to extend and expand educational reform by shifting the instructional program at the school over the 5-year time span from a transitional bilingual program to a two-way bilingual, or dual…

The Neglected or Delinquent Program (N or D) of the Columbus (Ohio) Public Schools is designed to provide classrooms and tutorial services in language development for students served in facilities eligible for Chapter 1 aid for the neglected or delinquent. In the 1990-91 school year, one full-time N or D teacher and 12 part-time tutors served 153…

This sourcebook is designed to give urban educators new information and strategies for working with parents of elementary school students through grade 6. Its five workshops explore how family life, school programs, teacher practices, and district policies can help build school-family partnerships for learning. Threaded through these workshops are…

This report evaluates the Chapter I Take-Home Computer (THC) Program established in five elementary schools and four middle schools in academic year 1990-91 in the Atlanta (Georgia) Public Schools. The program involved sending 180 computers home for 6-week periods only with those students who had parents who were willing to attend a meeting and…

In 1988 the Kentucky Supreme Court upheld a previous decision that the state public education system had failed to provide an efficient system of common schools. The Kentucky Educational Reform Act (KERA, 1990) came from this decision. This paper reviews the restructuring of a primary school under the KERA, focusing on one collaborative effort…

A new approach to teaching and curriculum takes seriously the knowledge children have when they enter school. Teachers use the knowledge each child has to make instructional decisions so that the child learns mathematics with understanding, how to solve problems, and the computational skills. Research concerning the problem-solving strategies…

This paper reports on a study of the Houston (Texas) Independent School District's Lighted Schoolhouse Program, which is designed to serve as an intermediary between homeless children and community service agencies, to provide a range of after-school activities for unattended children, and to provide opportunities for participation of families and…

This paper has presented some of the major conclusions arising out of a clinical study of a group of fifth grade achievers and underachievers from an urban lower class Negro public elementary school. The major factors which distinguished the group of achievers from the group of underachievers were those in the area of quality of interpersonal…

This article reports on an investigation of African American families' perceptions of their experiences in an after-school involvement program at two inner city schools, one public and one Catholic, in partnership with a university. A sociocultural-based program model was used to facilitate documentation of family studies and to prepare preservice…

The Extended School Year Program of the Detroit (Michigan) public schools was designed to demonstrate that lengthening the school year would produce corresponding changes in student achievement as measured by the Michigan Educational Assessment Program and the Metropolitan Achievement Test. The Extended School Year was a 3-year summer program…

Community School District 23 (CSD 23) in Region 5 of the New York City public schools serves students who reside in central Brooklyn. The district enrolls approximately 12,800 students in grades K-8 in 18 schools. Scholastic READ 180 is one of several reading interventions that the district is using to improve student performance. The staff of…

Describes the PRIDE Program, a partnership between the Harrisburg School District (Pennsylvania) and Bloomsburg University to provide urban, poverty-level sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students at risk of dropping out with an opportunity to spend a week on campus each summer. Program evaluation shows improved student attitudes and…