"First Things First" is a reform model intended to transform elementary, middle, and high schools serving significant proportions of economically disadvantaged students. Its three main components are: (1) "small learning communities" of students and teachers; (2) a family and student advocate system that pairs staff members and…

This paper presents a picture of risk and challenge for youth in distressed communities and outlines how these communities can band together to create a continuum of supportive activities to bolster youth's success in school and life. As youth grow and develop, individualized support and exposure to new experiences has a significant impact on…

Success in school is a vital developmental outcome for children. In recent decades, it has been shown that school outcomes are influenced by a variety of environments and social processes in the lives of children, both within and across the central microsystems of family, school, and neighborhood. The current study used a multilevel analytic…

Are public and private organizations fundamentally different? This question has been among the most enduring inquiries in public administration. Our study explores the impact of organizational ownership on two complementary aspects of performance: service quality and access to services for impoverished clients. Derived from public management…

Research Findings: This study investigated the complexity of teacher questions in 14 preschool classrooms serving economically disadvantaged 4-year-olds. The purposes were to explore the frequency and complexity of teacher questions and to determine the extent to which question types varied for different classroom contexts. Using teacher…

Published annually since 1997, Newark Kids Count tracks key trends in child health and well-being in New Jersey's largest city with the latest statistics available. Newark Kids Count includes the latest statistics, along with five-year trend data, in the following areas: population and demographics, family economic security, affordable housing,…

This study investigates the effects of Cognitive Tutor Bridge to Algebra (CTBA), a computer-assisted, remedial Algebra I curriculum, on mathematics performance and mathematics attitudes of ninth-grade students (n = 177) including English Learners (n = 78) and Economically Disadvantaged students (n = 93). A total of 95 students participated in CTBA…

When people hear the term "urban", they immediately associate it with negative attributes such as poverty stricken students and families, ill-prepared students, run down facilities, and an inconsistency in teachers. When compared to any kind of school whether its' private or public, urban school districts have the worst label of all. Why is there…

The relatively poor academic achievement of black and Hispanic students has been a national concern since the passage of the "Elementary Secondary and Education Act" in 1963. Frustrated with relatively slow progress in closing these educational gaps, the most recent reauthorization of the ESEA, the "No Children Left Behind Act of…

This paper presents results of English Language Arts Criterion-Referenced Test (CRT) of third grade students for the year 2008-2009. In 2005, 77% of third-grade students who took the 3rd grade Language Arts CRT were proficient; in 2009, 80% of third-grade students were proficient. Third grade proficiency on the Language Arts Test has gradually…

This paper focuses on the educational opportunities available to rural migrant children in Beijing. On the basis of fieldwork conducted in migrant communities in 2004-2005, I conclude that administrative and financial barriers, as well as discrimination, prevent migrant children from entering state schools. I discuss the quality of education…

The Ronald E. McNair Postbaccalaureate Achievement (McNair) Program is one of the U.S. Department of Education-funded TRIO Programs, a group of eight outreach programs designed to support and assist students from disadvantaged backgrounds to progress through the academic pipeline from middle school to attainment of a postbaccalaureate degree. The…

Conditions in Buffalo, New York, parallel those in cities elsewhere across the United States. The public school population nears 75 percent children of color, with over 80 percent qualifying for the free or reduced-price lunch program--a primary indicator of poverty. In contrast, the teacher population, drawn almost exclusively from the middle…

This paper investigates the relationship between phonological processing and reading ability amongst grade 4 and grade 5 Arabic speaking children in Egypt. In addition to measuring reading level, the study assessed the children's ability to identify rhymes, delete individual phonemes from words, retain and manipulate sequences of digit names and…

In September 2005, the Toronto-based Task Force on Modernizing Income Security for Working Age Adults (MISWAA) examined Canada's income security system and presented proposals to improve the economic security of low-income, working-age adults. Former youth in care, with their poor outcomes and limited prospects for self-sufficiency as they…