This document is comprised of the two 2001 issues of a newsletter of the Harvard Family Research Project, designed to share new ideas and experiences in evaluating systems reform and comprehensive child and family services. The first issue focuses on strategic communications and efforts of nonprofit agencies to evaluate strategic communication…

With high school reform now a front-burner issue, districts and communities cannot afford to have high school after-school on the back burner. In this commentary, we focus on how and why the high school reform and after-school movements need to be woven together to produce a solid system of learning opportunities and developmental supports…

Sustainability seems generally thought to mean raising money. But money is only part of the equation. Money cannot be raised without a quality program, a quality program demonstrates results, effective results are based on sound management practices, etc. Sustainability therefore, is many things that in combination make something capable of…

This article reports on an investigation of African American families' perceptions of their experiences in an after-school involvement program at two inner city schools, one public and one Catholic, in partnership with a university. A sociocultural-based program model was used to facilitate documentation of family studies and to prepare preservice…

Based on the view that the first years of school continue an educational process that began at birth, this report presents the first comprehensive look at learning opportunities for young children in Pennsylvania. The report describes programs in Pennsylvania for children from birth through 8 years of age, providing details on funding,…

These 11 issues discuss concerns related to child advocacy and provide information on problems in children's lives in the United States. Regular features include the editorial column "A Voice for Children," a status report on federal legislation related to children, descriptions of Children's Defense Fund activities, news from the Black…

FLAME (Foreign Language Alternative Mastery Example) is a model for foreign language in the elementary school (FLES), conducted after school and focused on development of a broad vocabulary base, especially cognates and terms relevant to the student's everyday environment. In the program, FLES student teachers collaborate with a university-based…

Describes the Rice Computer Education Center, a cooperative after-school project for providing computer training for at-risk elementary school students in Chicago (Illinois). (FMW)

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…