This report summarizes evaluation results from AISD's state-funded Optional Extended Year program activities during 2000-2001.

Presents three addresses given at a conference at the College of St. Thomas (Minnesota) by Vincent Reed, David Frye, and Casey Banas on the priorities of American secondary education from a local perspective. Jean Dye, Neal Nickerson, and Steve Permuth respond. (WD)

A two-year federally-funded center has set out to make school for Navajos "a place of success rather than a place of failure and frustration." A brief history of Navajo education and a discussion of community-based programs, Navajo curriculum, energy curriculum, and bilingual program success are provided. (MLW)

Describes the Home Visit Initiative at Socorro Middle School in Texas. Discusses the purpose of home visits; selection of families for teacher home visits; the visiting team; parents', students', and teachers' reactions to visits, and the results of an evaluation of the home visits, especially the impact on parent volunteerism and schooling,…

Discusses research on the impact of home environment on children's school achievement. Explores positive models of home environments, parent attitudes, parents as teachers, home learning activities/materials, and school preparation. Concludes that though risk factors exist in certain families, parents can nurture high-performing children if…

This 13th annual edition of "Education Vital Signs" reports on indicators of school and student success, such as parent involvement, academic coursework, high school completion, technology use, achievement test scores, and student performance on reading, math, and science assessments. Also offers state-by-state statistics and a profile of school…

Reports on a study investigating how Americans respond to English as a Second Language (ESL) speech depending on the non-native speaker's accent and whether there were errors in the ESL speech. Findings indicate that Americans exhibit different cultural prejudices towards different foreign speakers depending on the accent of the speakers. (50…

Accelerated schools strive to bring at-risk students into the educational mainstream and perform at grade level through acceleration rather than remediation. Describes four steps to initiate the accelerated process and how a Texas middle school involved all members of the school community in implementing the first two steps, taking stock and…

Guided by the Health Belief Model, focus groups identified strategies to promote parent involvement with their children's substance abuse education. Low-income parents and school personnel identified cues to action and necessary requirements (child care, transportation, incentives) as important in promoting parent involvement. Children's…

A study examining the educational experiences of Aboriginal students surveyed educators, service providers, and Indigenous residents in a rural South Australian Aboriginal community. Findings indicated a lack of cross-cultural communication. Recommendations revolve around equalizing power differentials between schools and community, and include…

Mobile preschool units provide a viable solution to the problem of delivering preschool education to isolated rural New Zealanders. Advantages include delivery of bicultural education to Maori children, a low teacher-student ratio, provision of qualified teachers, and enthusiastic parent participation. Disadvantages include inadequate buildings,…

Examines the monitoring processes of parents and their effects on the attitudes and experiences of 498 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade African American inner-city adolescents. Finds parental influence to be significant in the career and goal aspirations of the adolescents, despite adolescents' reports of feeling "hassled" by parents.…

Describes child care programs in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in December 1989 in terms of commitment to children; infant care facilities; program funding; curriculum implementation; staffing practices; incidence, treatment, and control of illnesses; and parent involvement. (BB)

Engages students in writing their autobiographies through the Family Heritage Booklet, a student-compiled family history social studies project, designed for Texas seventh graders. Includes objectives, materials, and procedures. Contains letter to parents seeking their knowledge on family history. Suggests project boosts student self-esteem and…

Based on the May 1990 report of Head Start's Silver Ribbon Panel, this article provides background information on the panel, summarizes Head Start's successes and challenges, outlines the commendations, and discusses implications of the panel's report. (BG)