The James Irvine Foundation launched the Communities Organizing Resources to Advance Learning (CORAL) initiative in 1999 with the goal of improving the academic achievement of children in the lowest-performing schools in five California cities. In 2004, CORAL adopted a more targeted approach toward reaching this goal by integrating a regular…

Computers are strategic tools in readying students for the future, as well as important learning tools for the present. The use of computers can help alleviate critical problems including low self-esteem, dropout rates, and illiteracy. This guide proposes making school computers accessible to students during times when schools are normally closed:…

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) "Tips for New and Old for the New School Year" (September); (2) "Train Them and Retain Them: Keeping Quality Staff" (October);…

Within the past few years there has been a very remarkable increase in public school extension and the wider use of school buildings and equipment. This extension work has taken many forms, all of which, however, are intended to be supplementary to the regular school work. In order that records of this work may be kept and that teachers, school…

Studied after-school activities of third graders for two years. Found that children attending after-school programs spent more time on academic and extracurricular activities; children in informal care spent more time watching television and "hanging out." Sex differences were reported in the type of activities. Time spent in activities was…

Scholars, practitioners, and laypeople at one time or another have questioned what learning is and how it can be measured once it is defined. Many use the term interchangeably with growth, change, development, knowledge, education, cognition, or acquisition as it is commonly considered in educational practice. However, most generally assume a…

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the feasibility and effectiveness of V.I.K. (Very Important Kids), a school-based, multi-component intervention designed to prevent teasing and unhealthy weight-control behaviors among fourth through sixth grade students. The effectiveness of the V.I.K. intervention was evaluated using a pre-post…

In 1996, Chicago became the epicenter for this debate when it "ended social promotion" in the third, sixth, and eighth grades. While not the first, Chicago's initiative has been the most sustained to date and has produced the clearest evidence of positive as well as negative results. Test scores rose rapidly after the institution of…

In these days of tremendous political pressure for results measured by standardized tests, time constraints can make social and emotional learning (SEL) a difficult undertaking for many classroom teachers. It seemed that after-school programs would be effective learning environments for supplying the missing piece in children's education. In this…

This paper compares two sets of data from the same year, 2001--the numbers of students taking languages other than English at primary and secondary level, and census statistics for the home use of languages other than English. The data draws attention to languages that are taught principally in day schools and those taken mainly in after hours…

Researchers and policymakers have pointed to the lagging scores of eighth graders on international, national, and state assessments as evidence that students are not prepared to meet high academic standards and that middle grades reform is needed. In response to these concerns, educators have introduced reforms designed to provide middle-level…

Scratch the surface of a successful school and you will find a web of interactions that is the root of its success. Who is it that envisions, inspires, cajoles, and rallies all the various players in and around a school toward any improvement goal? Often it's a superintendent, a principal, a professor, a special teacher, or a parent. In a word,…

The School-Age Care Environment Rating Scale (SACERS) presented in this booklet is a comprehensive rating scale for school-age child care programs that is based on criteria for developmental appropriateness for this age group. The SACERS is intended to be used in center-based care rather than in family child care homes. The booklet begins with an…

This guidebook presents information for use by religious leaders to plan and implement financially sound, high quality child care programs. A foreword describes child care provision as a ministry within the mainstream of congregational activity. Chapter 1, "Assessing the Need," provides a statewide overview of the need for child care…

The second implementation year of Classical Greek magnet programs in two elementary schools in the school district of Kansas City, Missouri, is evaluated. The Pitcher Classical Greek Magnet (PCGM) School and Woodland Classical Greek Magnet (WCGP) School programs emphasize a strong liberal arts education that reflects the classical Greek ideal of a…