Describes the "It Takes a Valley" program, which provides future teachers extensive early field experience and opportunities to develop strategies for success in high-needs schools. The program emphasizes collaboration, service learning, and student cohorts. Data from participants' journals and formal evaluations indicate that the…

Current theory on mentoring describes the process as a mutual learning relationship in which both the mentor and the mentee gain knowledge. Many research studies have supported the benefits of mentoring programs for at-risk elementary school children. One particularly interesting mentoring project with preschool children is Jumpstart, a national…

Indiana University uses audiographic technology to provide off-campus graduate level training to teachers of at-risk and mildly handicapped students in several rural communities of southern Indiana. The At-Risk Program consists of six credits of academic instruction and six credits of supervised practicum focusing on school- and curriculum-based…

Describes Learning Support Services at the University of Houston, which developed and conducted a training program on academic success counseling. Practicum trainees counseled students, about one-half of whom were at-risk students (under 2.0 GPA), in a learning center effort to improve retention and graduation rates at the university. The…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of code-oriented supplemental instruction for kindergarten students at risk for reading difficulties. Paraeducators were trained to provide 18 weeks of explicit instruction in phonemic skills and the alphabetic code. Students identified by their teachers meeting study eligibility criteria…

A particularly difficult problem for teacher educators is preparing teachers who both understand and are able to work with students who are educationally disadvantaged, and/or are at-risk academically. Most preservice teachers have little or no contact with these students and therefore never learn how to help them overcome academic deficiencies.…

A cost-free counseling model was developed to meet the changing needs of elementary school students in a small college city in California. A training program for graduate students was set up within the public school setting and was clinically supervised. Marriage, Family, and Child Counselor and Licensed Educational Psychologist internships were…

This paper presents the story of a university/public school collaborative program that in June 1991 was awarded the American Association of Higher Education's Presidents' Forum Award for Exemplary Work in Accelerating Minority Achievement. The Louisiana program was implemented by the College of Education of the University of New Orleans and two…

A study examined the effects of prior knowledge on the reading comprehension of disadvantaged first-grade students from an inner-city school in northern Utah. A thematic approach using trade books, field experiences, Language Experience Activities, and student journals was used to increase background knowledge of the at-risk first graders who were…

Focusing on the future of at-risk students is critical. Collaboration between university and public school educators in a Professional Development School (PDS) can provide opportunities for faculty and preservice teachers to participate with at-risk students and their teachers to improve current practices, provide individualized experiences, and…

This last in a series of articles on at-risk students highlights Professional Development Schools, restructuring teacher training programs, and integrating modern technology. Topics discussed include university-school collaboration that integrates theory and practice using fieldwork; telecommunication networks; distance learning labs; and…

The Center of Excellence for Rural Special Education at Clemson University (South Carolina) has developed a field-based undergraduate preservice teacher training program. During the fall and spring semesters of their senior year, preservice teachers are matched with a mentor special education teacher for 2 weeks in a rural school district of the…

This second volume, the follow-on to "Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom, Volume 1: A Guide to Survival, Success, and Reform," extends the conversation to include educational leadership, teacher education, partnerships, and school reform. As with Volume 1, classroom music teachers, inner city arts administrators, well-known academics,…

Children who are "at risk" are differentiated by their difficulty meeting standards for school success. This paper describes a model for a field-based component of an elementary education children's literature course involving in-school tutoring of at risk children. The program provided preservice teachers the opportunity to: (1) develop…