After a decade of budget cutbacks for physical education, teachers have noticed a negative impact on their students' academic performance. And they're doing something about it. The author discusses how teachers and parents are launching programs to get kids on their feet and back into shape.

Describes four different and exemplary preschools: Small World Center for Creativity (Boise, Idaho); the Creative Play Center (Worthington, Ohio); Westmoreland Cooperative Preschool (University of Oregon, Eugene); and Montessori Gardens School (Hilton Head Island, South Carolina). Also gives tips on running a preschool. (SJL)

Describes a program in which both handicapped and nonhandicapped children learn and grow through their mutual interaction. (MP)

Describes some innovative public relations practices developed by Pennsylvania elementary schools. (SJL)

Presented are brief descriptions of the winning entries in this magazine's contest for existing programs to serve as prototypes for wide-scale use in elementary schools of the 1980s. Top prizes went to computer literacy, energy education, and nutrition projects. Twenty runners-up are also described. Project addresses are included. (SJL)

In Baton Rouge, Louisiana, teachers and parents use a kindergarten screening and academic readiness intervention program that nips potential learning problems in the bud. (Editor/SJL)

Describes the winners of the Space Traveler Project, a contest jointly sponsored by Rockwell International, NASA, and this magazine to identify worthwhile elementary science programs relating to the Space Shuttle. (SJL)

The Zoo School, housed in the Grand Rapids, Michigan, city zoo, provides a challenging one-year program for highly motivated, but not necessarily gifted, sixth graders. Using the zoo as a laboratory, its goal is to teach students about the contemporary world and to develop them as independent learners. (Author/SJL)

Here's a simple, effective, school-based nutrition program from Oakham Center Elementary School, plus activities, a play, a quiz, a worksheet, and a resource list. (Editor/SJL)

Five teachers describe the activities and benefits of special programs conducted by their schools: a turn-on-to-learning pep-up rally; a foreign language day; a math festival; a health carnival; and a grandparents' day. (SJL)

The editors of "Classroom Computer News" prepared this compendium of news and tips for using computers in the classroom. Topics include computer literacy, the benefits of classroom computer use, programing individualized education programs (IEPs), selecting courseware, the basics of microprocessors and new products. (Editor/SJL)

Described are 16 successful education projects in 11 states. Some are supported by local or state funds; others are approved by the National Diffusion Network, meaning that they have been statistically validated as effective and receive federal funds to train teachers in replicating the project at minimum cost. Addresses are available for further…