Over the next 20 years, experts predict that the number of Latina/o children in the U.S. will double, so that by the year 2025, one in four school children will be Latina/o (White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanic Americans, 1998). Yet the academic achievement of Latina/os lags far behind that of other ethnic and racial…

The middle level years are a crucial time for student development, a time when the path for school success is set for many students. Educators who focus on character and leadership development realize that training in these areas can play a significant role in developing students who will become effective leaders and active citizens in middle…

In recent years, there has been heightened awareness of the importance of early childhood education and high school as intervention points in the educational lives of America's children. Less attention has been paid to the importance of the upper elementary grades and middle school and the role they must play in the preparation of students for…

An expanding body of research suggests an important role for parent or family competency training in children's social-emotional learning and related school success. This article summarizes a test of a longitudinal model examining partnership-based family competency training effects on academic success in a general population. Specifically, it…

In 2 studies, an expectancy-value framework was applied to investigate effort expended on mathematics homework. In Study 1 (2,712 students in grades 5, 7, and 9; mean age=13.37 years), lower homework effort was found in higher grades. The effects of intrinsic value on homework effort were higher in the older cohorts, whereas the effects of the…

Purpose: This study asked if children's performance on language tests reflects different dimensions of language and if this dimensionality changes with development. Method: Children were given standardized language batteries at kindergarten and at second, fourth, and eighth grades. A revised modified parallel analysis was used to determine the…

Commitment and attachment to school and perception of school norms were examined in a sample of sixth, seventh, and eighth graders to determine whether bullies, victims, bully victims, and students who reported no or low levels of bullying and victimization differed in their level of bonding to school and their perceptions of standards and…

This issue of the quarterly newsletter of the Center for Mental Health in Schools includes the following features and regular segments: (1) Complex Problems, Limited Solutions; (2) Research into Practice: Supporting Successful Transition to Ninth Grade; (3) Schools & MH Research; and (4) Response Form.

New Jersey After 3 (NJ After 3) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to expand and improve afterschool opportunities for New Jersey's youth. Using both public and private resources, it supports a network of youth-service providers that deliver afterschool services based on NJ After 3's program model. Under an agreement with NJ…