Noting that many communities in the United States have set the ambitious goal of enhancing school readiness, this report is intended to help communities invest wisely in school readiness initiatives. Part 1 of the report summarizes recommendations from the National Education Goals Panel (NEGP) for defining and assessing school readiness. The core…

This issue brief explores emerging efforts to meet the needs of infants and toddlers in low-income families. It highlights general strategies that states and localities can use to promote the healthy development of infants and toddlers in the context of promoting parental economic self-sufficiency. These strategies are illustrated with examples of…

These Comprehensive School Reform Demonstration (CSRD) state action plans were initially developed in 1998 for the central regional states, which include Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. They detail the states' specific technical assistance needs, as well as the services to be provided by Mid-Continent…

This publication is an outgrowth of a cooperative effort by the Association of American Colleges and the University of Maryland to use the World Wide Web to disseminate information about promising diversity programs, courses, and campus life initiatives being developed by colleges and universities around the country. Descriptions of diversity…

This brief paper tells the story of a group of high school students in West Texas who worked together to solve a language problem in their local public schools. They determined that there was a need to have better bilingual resources and services available to new arrivals with limited or no English language speaking ability. The bulk of the paper…

This report describes the activities and outcomes of Project RISK, a 3+2 years service delivery demonstration and replication project that was based on the assumption that infants of HIV positive women are at significant developmental risk from prenatal exposure to HIV infection and, possibly, teratogenic drugs, as well as from the complex…

To meet the challenges of student diversity, the Southwest Texas Center for Professional Development and Technology offers school-family-community partnerships with urban schools. Preservice teacher interns participate in field-based experiences where they interact with diverse students in various settings over a semester. They learn to handle the…

Service learning addresses many developmental needs of early adolescents that may be neglected in academic curricula, a particularly urgent need for inner city youth. This paper describes the urban National Helper's Network, noting ways that service learning empowers both the servers and the served, who are both in need. (SM)

Describes community service learning (CSL) programs at Pottenger School, Springfield (Massachusetts). The kindergarten through grade-12 school, a literature-based whole-language school, integrates CSL into the curriculum through writing about student experiences. CSL projects have included feeding the homeless, corresponding with a soldier, and…

Provides sources of information for older persons desiring to find employment. Describes Federal Volunteer Agency programs, the U.S. Small Business Administration program, and U.S. Department of Labor Programs. Lists several recreation programs developed for older adults. (RC)

The author reports on the multicultural, bilingual art program she created for elementary-age children at the Marcos de Niza community center in Phoenix, Arizona. This article is part of a theme issue on multicultural art education. (SJL)

The concept of critical media literacy expands the notion of literacy to include different forms of mass communication and popular culture, as well as deepens the potential of literacy education to critically analyze relationships between media and audiences, information and power. The authors argue that critical media literacy is crucial for…

Many young people in the District of Columbia are failing to make a successful transition to adulthood. Their challenges include poor preparation for the high-skills labor market and long-standing health problems. Recent District government efforts have centered around school reform and early childhood, but these areas are not sufficient to…

This special issue of the Family Resource Coalition Report presents personal experiences and reflections regarding parent involvement and leadership in family support. Articles in this issue are: (1) "The Vaughn Family Center: It's My Story" (Jorge Lara and Matt Oppenheim); (2) "Asking the Right Questions is Key to Developing Parent…

This report describes a federally funded project designed to meet the needs of culturally diverse children with special health care needs and their families in New York. The goal was to establish a model program that would demonstrate that the quality of life for culturally diverse children with special health needs and their families would be…