The directives in this document provide guidance to students, parents, teachers, school administrators, school boards, and the general public for the formulation of local policies governing relations among the various groups and individuals who make up the school community. The content focuses on the personal responsibilities of these individuals…

In considering science in afterschool, research was reviewed and is presented in this document on how students learn science; how science is assessed, particularly inquiry science; recommended practices for afterschool science; and current afterschool science programs. Databases such as ERIC, Wilson Web, and PsychINFO were searched using…

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,…

This annual report highlights the work of some grantees who are finding innovative ways to respond to today's new challenges based on a rigorous commitment by their leadership to gathering pertinent facts. These include cities that are planning wide-scale, lasting improvements in arts learning or out-of-school opportunities, basing their choices…

This education plan sets out a vision for instruction and school development so that Chicago Public Schools, Illinois, can become the premier urban school district in the United States. It represents a year of planning and program development in the areas of human capital, professional development, the Chicago Reading Initiative, the redesign of…

The word "summer" brings to mind images of a relaxed, unstructured season--a time markedly different from other seasons of the year. In the United States, we have a particularly entrenched notion that summer is different--a notion reflected in popular assumptions about summer as a "break" and reinforced by carefree depictions…

Asserting that previous studies of latchkey children had several methodological flaws, this 4-year study explored children's after-school lives, when their parents are working. Participating in the study were 53 families in which parents were employed full-time and which had at least one child in elementary school; families came from a wide range…

This collection of papers examines the critical literacy development of English learners, focusing on English reading instruction in an immersion setting, English language development, and cultural issues pertaining to English learners in and out of the classroom. The 16 papers include the following: (1) "Reading and the Bilingual Student: Fact…

This document is comprised of the 12 monthly issues of a newsletter providing support and information for providers of child care for school-age children. The featured articles for each month are: (1) "Reflections on the School-Age Field" (September); (2) "Tips for Effective Service-Learning Projects in Out-of-School Time…

This booklet provides schools with ideas on how they can use their after-school programs in new and effective ways to promote student achievement and meet the needs of their students and community. It provides suggestions on: reading in after-school programs; mathematics in after-school programs; think college early in after-school programs;…

Many dangers and challenges face inner-city minority children during their after-school hours. Youth development programs provide an alternative to spending this time unsupervised. We examined the relationship between children's experiences in selected urban Boys and Girls Clubs and child functioning. Because the sample (N = 296) consisted of…

Describes a school-university-community partnership that uses win-win collaboration to remove barriers to learning. The partnership involves a middle school, the Parks and Recreation Department, and the University of Kentucky, which collaborate with other community agencies to sponsor a school-based recreation and homework center, community…

Reviews 1999 school finance legislation, analyzes 1994-99 state education finance activity, and discusses established and emergent trends in funding for school infrastructure, educational technology, charter schools, student achievement (class-size reduction, school-year extensions, reading instruction, and alternative placements), teacher…

Across the United States, only 10% of all teachers are members of minority groups, indicating that teachers are far less diverse than the current population of students they teach. The West Virginia Health Sciences and Technology Academy, a math and science afterschool program and summer institute, was created specifically to reach out to…

An urban university music education department and an outreach organization partnered to provide after-school music classes for at-risk children. Fourteen music education majors were recruited to teach 125 first through fifth graders (6-12 years of age), whose ethnicity was 55 percent Hispanic and 45 percent African-American. Classes included…