Argues that the current structure of non-profit child care centers is outmoded, hinders creative leadership, and presents management problems for directors. Presents six illustrations of management problems: (1) shifting constituency; (2) time constraints on board members; (3) short-circuited entrepreneurism; (4) director accountability; (5)…

Addresses the need for teachers in socioeconomically disadvantaged schools to change classroom practice. Examines the disparity between home and school environments, using critical social theory. Describes curriculum negotiation as an active, relevant process, focusing on creating classroom environments that empower students. Discusses the skills…

Examines the conflicting approaches, legal, medical, and educational, to the treatment of deprived and retarded children in the Netherlands around 1900. Although initially in competition, the educational and medical fields soon began a cooperative relationship defined by symbiotic philosophies and institutions. Discusses the development of…

Recounts a lawyer's personal experience teaching high school students from the wrong side of the tracks about the U.S. Constitution as part of a pilot program. Suggests that linking legal issues to students' personal lives. Can inspire as well as inform. (CH)

Charts and graphs present data on changes in fiscal 1996 funding for the Department of Education and other federal agencies, and tables report dollar amounts of fiscal 1995 actual spending, fiscal 1996 estimated expenses, and fiscal 1996 requested aid for student assistance, graduate support, institutional assistance, research, and other purposes.…

Examples from a multiyear project in a Los Angeles (California) school in a low-income Hispanic school district illustrate successes of a program to improve the early reading achievement of Spanish-speaking primary school children. The interplay of research, practice, and school improvement resulted in significant improvement in early Spanish…

Maintains that an overhaul of the public educational system is necessary to meet the needs of all students, including poor and minority students. (BB)

Analyzes concepts of access and success as they relate to educational practice for homeless students, describing a congressional policy shift and barriers to education. A survey of 45 state coordinators and a case study of the Chicago (Illinois) public schools reveal how difficult it is to provide success for homeless students. (SLD)

Notes that homeless children lack many normal requisites for development and learning. Issues facing programs for homeless children in the early years are explored. Well-designed child care and school programs that provide family support can allow children to develop in spite of the turbulence of their lives. (SLD)

Describes a recent movement among business leaders and others to start privately funded voucher programs that enable low-income parents to send their children to religious and other private schools. Covers programs in Indianapolis (Indiana), Milwaukee (Wisconsin), San Antonio (Texas), and Atlanta (Georgia); and notes minority families'…

Reviews studies that defined and measured the effects of quality in early child care and education, and analyzes successful programs to determine common traits. Common characteristics include small class sizes; teacher support for greater teaching effectiveness; long-lasting intervention; ongoing, child-focused communication between home and…

For 2 decades, policymakers have pretended that bureaucratic, state-imposed standards, testing, and sanctions will fundamentally raise all schoolchildren's academic achievement and create productive citizens. The losers have been children of the poor, working class, and undereducated. Policymakers are holding schools and children accountable for…

A case-control study was conducted to examine a broad array of potential social risk and protective factors for suicide attempt among 200 African American men and women receiving care at a large, public, urban hospital. Specifically, we examined the effect of the following potential risk factors for suicide attempt: life hassles, partner abuse,…

The future of gifted education is discussed in this symposium report, which contains the edited presentations of six national consultants and the ensuing discussion among the panelists. The consultants addressed the significance of a report of the U.S. Department of Education entitled "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's…

A quarter of children under age 6 are poor. Poverty has a multiple and cumulative effect on children, regardless of race, family structure, or parental education level. As part of the Children's Defense Fund's Costs of Child Poverty Research Project, this report shows the effects of poverty on children. The Children's Defense Fund's stated mission…