In spite of widespread concerns about low academic achievement nationally, parents generally have expressed satisfaction with their own children's achievement and schools, largely because their children's grades suggest that they are doing well. This report examines what student grades tell about achievement through the use of data from the…

The Alternative Basic Comprehension Program (Project A.B.C.) for bilingual high school students was a special alternative instructional program funded by Title VII for the third year at two high schools in the Bronx. In the year under review, Project A.B.C. served 260 students of limited English proficiency (LEP). Participating students received…

This report gives new recognition to the power and potential of the American family to improve education. Following an introduction that looks at the factors inhibiting parental involvement in their children's education, the report reviews 30 years of research indicating that the starting point of American education is parent expectations and…

Practical information for parents of children with learning disabilities (LD) is presented in a workbook format. Guidelines for effective parenting of LD children are interspersed between checklists and other forms for record keeping, observations, and planning. After a chapter outlining the basic facts about learning disabilities, a chapter is…

This combined audiovisual and textual package presents results of a symposium which attempted to identify critical issues and best practices in developing communication skills of children and youth with severe disabilities and to recommend future directions. The package is intended for group use and includes a guide, a videotape, and texts of the…

In June 1990, the state of Kentucky passed its innovative Education Reform Act, which totally restructured the finance, governance, and curriculum of its public schools. One of the major provisions of the act was the mandate for Kentucky's primary schools to change from the traditional placement of children of the same age in kindergarten, first,…

The Odyssey Project is named for the Greek hero, Odysseus, who for 10 years, sought the purpose of life. The Project is based on the philosophy that a new generation of American schools must be viewed as a lifelong quest for excellence. The project is one of 11 designs for schools funded by the New American Schools Development Corporation, a…

An inservice teacher education course was designed to address the problems of content-area teachers in teaching limited-English-proficient (LEP) students. Goals were for content-area teachers: (1) to gain sensitivity to and understanding of the special needs of this population; (2) to become aware of the cultural and linguistic diversity and…

This document reports the findings of a process evaluation of the Saginaw, Michigan Early Childhood Education Preschool program for 4-year-olds at risk of academic failure. As of January, 1992, a total of 292 pupils were attending the program at 9 sites. The goal of the program is to enable 4-year-olds to develop school readiness skills. Program…

The goal of this practicum was to design an effective program orientation session for teachers and parents that would enhance parent involvement in an American Indian Head Start preschool program. Objectives were that: (1) a total of 90% of families and 100% of staff would attend a program orientation session; (2) a parent involvement activity…

This document, which is designed to serve as a resource for school districts that are formulating comprehensive parent involvement programs, provides a representative sampling of parent involvement programs in California. Section 1 lists programs operating at the local educational level that: (1) help parents develop parenting skills and foster…

This edition of a handbook aimed at helping parents help their children make a career choice has been rewritten and updated. New material begins with the introduction, which provides a rationale for involving parents in their sons' and daughters' career decisions. Other new material includes sections on women and work, minorities and work,…

Sixty tables are presented, which examine the test achievement of a national probability sample of eighth graders in public and private schools. Statistics were obtained from the base-year student survey of the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88). The NELS:88 monitors the transition of a national sample of young adults as they…

With the rapid increase of ethnic minorities entering industrial societies and interacting with mainstream cultures, issues of cultural and linguistic differences must be addressed. Particularly relevant to educators is understanding the process of acculturation and socialization of uprooted ethnic or low-income minority children. Such children…

An overview is provided of the Accelerated Schools Project (ASP) as implemented in one urban elementary school in New Orleans, emphasizing the role of the University of New Orleans Satellite Center. The present student population of the school studied is 405 students in grades pre-kindergarten through six. The ASP is a non-traditional strategy for…