Examined the importance of students' academic performance levels and extracurricular activities as predictors of drug involvement relative to peer influence. Data were obtained from 2,229 randomly selected students in the 8th, 10th, and 12th grades from school districts in northeastern Ohio. At all grade levels, involvement in extracurricular…

The current discourse in teacher preparation emphasizes the critical need for teachers to work in multicultural settings. The unique challenges inherent in preparing teachers at a predominantly White institution to teach in diverse classrooms include the critical examination of teacher candidates' White privilege, instructor readiness, and access…

We present a review of an after-school program that has been running at Queensborough Community College of the City University of New York for the past 5 years. The program is unique among after-school activities for high school students in several ways. First, it deliberately focuses on students who do not excel in science and math courses and…

The personal aspect of knowledge--the everyday concepts--is located in the life setting of a person. These personal concepts are the foundation for the child's appropriation of subject matter concepts that qualify the child's personal concept so they can function as theoretical concepts. However, subject matter concepts are not universal, they are…

In the spring of 2000, five Springfield, Missouri, elementary schools piloted the first semester of a WorldCom/Campus Compact Grant called "Students as Citizens: Linking Families, Schools, Communities and Universities to Enhance Learning through Technology." The grant title was later changed to "Discovering Springfield's First…

This guide explores the key issues in the development, sustainability, and effectiveness of after-school programs including before school, weekends, and summers, and identifies federal strategies to promote effective programs. The first part of the booklet presents the core elements of an effective after-school program, noting that programs…

This paper describes and interprets an action research project that supported student teachers learning to teach physical education in a community-based, after-school games program. Ten student teachers taught 10 lessons to elementary school children, under the guidance of 3 supervisory teachers, who were graduate students, and one program…

Based on current research, the study reports on how students spend out-of-school time, addresses issues related to the integration of services and parent and family involvement, and suggests ways in which the Chapter 1 program can play a more active role than in the past. Research has indicated that placing more emphasis on primary services for…

The University of Chicago's Chapin Hall Center for Children evaluated the progress of the Making the Most of Out-of-School Time (MOST) Initiative in Boston, Chicago, and Seattle. MOST's goals are to improve the supply, accessibility, affordability and quality of school-age care, especially for low-income children; and to strengthen the overall…

Because students spend only 19% of their time each year in school, families and schools need to focus jointly on "the 81% solution" to improve learning beyond the school day and year. This paper discusses examples of the 81% solution that are being implemented in a variety of communities by the LINCT (Learning and Information Networking for…

This report describes an after-school tutorial program in which fifth- and sixth-grade tutors at Public School 61, situated in the heart of the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City, tutor third and fourth graders. The Chance To Succeed Program was developed by assistant principal I. Kushner. It begins in November and ends in June, and runs…

Collaborations between schools and parents, and schools and other institutions, seek to improve or expand available resources. This issue of "Focus in Change" focuses on two elementary schools with different models of collaboration in place. At Columbia Park Elementary School (Maryland) parents have been involved in site-based management teams…

A handbook for the organization and implementation of an elementary school foreign language program presents guidelines for teachers and PTA liaisons. The program provides supplemental elementary-level instruction for children in Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese, and Arabic. Much of the program planning and organization is conducted by…

This guide to the Latch Key program for after-school day care explores rationale and methods for developing Latch Key programs in the public schools to provide low cost after-school care for children (grades 1-6) of working or student parents. (Some programs have been provided for kindergarten children and some have been expanded to full time…

THE PLUS PROGRAM OFFERS REMEDIAL READING AND ARITHMETIC, ENRICHMENT, FIELD TRIPS, AND SOCIAL WORK, GUIDANCE, AND PSYCHOLOGICAL SERVICES TO 27,000 DISADVANTAGED PUBLIC AND PRIVATE SCHOOL CHILDREN IN GRADES ONE THROUGH EIGHT. AMONG THE PROJECT'S SPECIFIC OBJECTIVES ARE THE REDUCTION OF CLASS SIZE, THE INVOLVEMENT OF A PUPIL'S FAMILY IN HIS PROGRESS,…