In "The Critical Advantage," noted scholar and early childhood expert William T. Gormley, Jr. takes a wide ranging look at the important role of critical thinking in preparing students for college, careers, and civic life. Drawing on research from psychology, philosophy, business, political science, neuroscience, and other disciplines,…

More than 7.4 million U.S. children ages 5 and under live in a household where a language other than English is spoken by a parent or caregiver. But despite the size and growth of this Dual Language Learner (DLL) population, and these children's distinct linguistic assets and learning needs, standardized policies for identifying them and…

Nationwide, one-third of children ages 5 and under have at least one parent who speaks a language other than English. These Dual Language Learners (DLLs) are an incredibly diverse and growing group of young children, and with the right support these preschoolers have the potential to develop as multilingual and multiliterate individuals. Yet…

One hundred years ago, Chocolate Magnate Milton S. Hershey and his wife Catherine signed the deed of trust creating the Hershey Industrial School in the heart of their Pennsylvania farming community. They had no children of their own and wanted to help orphan boys get a good education. The couple eventually left their entire fortune to the school.…

States jockey for position as the U.S. Education Department readies billions of dollars in "Race to the Top" awards--the stimulus program's grand prize. Even before they've finished spending their first block of federal stimulus aid, states are getting a head start in a national "race to the top" for better public education,…

Working with students can be as tiring physically and mentally as any job. In the case of inner-city, disadvantaged youth, this becomes even more of a truism. Some of these students come to school with more baggage that one can even imagine; it's a wonder they can focus on anything, least of all school. In this article, the author shares a few…

This publication for Pennsylvania educators outlines five homelessness curricula found in schools in Florida, Minnesota, New York, and Pennsylvania, which aim to sensitize students to the realities of homelessness. The report points out that although the curricula differ in many ways, each covers the following key topics: (1) the causes and…

Researchers used the 1981-84 Pennsylvania Educational Quality Assessment Program to study student socioeconomic status (SES), race, and gender as related to mathematics achievement in fifth, eighth, and eleventh graders. At all three levels, Whites scored higher than Blacks, and achievement varied directly with SES levels. There were no replicable…

Alternative education programs for disruptive and at-risk students in Pennsylvania were studied to determine the characteristics that make such programs successful. This report presents the results of the analysis and lists model programs and other operating programs in Pennsylvania. Suspension and expulsion are stopgap solutions that relieve the…

This report summarizes the progress made by schools participating in the Northeast (Pennsylvania) Chapter 1 Program Improvement Task Force during the 1990-91 and 1991-92 school years. The first section gives an overview of project activities, and the second presents a summary of what each school team accomplished in the school years studied. The…

This publication is a resource book for Pennsylvania educators and those providing services to homeless children and families. It presents five models for effective coordination between schools and homeless shelters. The five models are those that have been developed in the following: (1) a large urban school district; (2) two medium size urban…