Early childhood has long been known to be a formative time in a child's development-- a time when the brain produces more than 1 million neural connections every second during the first few years of a child's life. However, there are factors at the individual and community levels that impact the development process. In communities across America,…

According to the National Center for Education Statistics (2011a; 2011b), the 2011 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) report revealed that African American and Hispanic students with disabilities continue to score well below their White and non-disabled counterparts in all areas tested and across all grade levels. Researchers…

Examines individual, family, and community factors identified in the literature as affecting achievement, attainment, and aspiration among African-American youth in junior and senior high school. In considering the complex interactions between achievement and attainment, it is necessary to review ways that achievement is measured and the…