Five short articles and sidebars present elementary classroom tips, a Westward Movement simulation, technology in the classroom, parental involvement, student assessment, celebrating National Book Week, celebrating Geography Awareness Week, writing contests, antiviolence programs, map making, selecting software, monthly celebrations, a mathematics…

Reports the effects of an after school tutoring and academic skills training partnership education program on low-achieving, black students' math and reading achievements. Student and parent behavior and academic achievement were assessed. School-reported defiance and parent-perceived adaptive skills significantly predicted grade point average.…

Early educational enrichment is a powerful tool for breaking the cycle of low achievement, school dropout, and dysfunctional adult behaviors. The article examines major areas related to preschool and school functioning that require consciousness raising and activism during early childhood education, suggesting ways to help sustain children's…

Examined associations between neighborhood risk factors and low-income children's academic performance from third to fifth grade. Neighborhood risk, based on characteristics such as income, education level, female-headed households, and violent crime, was not associated with children's academic performance in third grade but negatively predicted…

Investigated book-reading habits of families and teachers to hearing impaired and normal hearing kindergarten children. Found that while there was no significant difference in the book-reading habits of the two groups to their children, hearing-impaired children's families are more careful in book choosing and reading to their children. (Author/SD)

Describes a school-university-community partnership that uses win-win collaboration to remove barriers to learning. The partnership involves a middle school, the Parks and Recreation Department, and the University of Kentucky, which collaborate with other community agencies to sponsor a school-based recreation and homework center, community…

Tested a model linking maternal/family characteristics to child cognitive and psychosocial competence in African-American 6- to 9-year olds in rural single-mother-headed households. Found that maternal education, religiosity, and financial resources were linked with parenting style, mother-child relationship, and maternal school involvement.…

Notes that the capacity of schools to respond effectively to diverse learning needs of students often falls short, due to the lack of a systematic knowledge base on restructuring the current system to incorporate effective practices that achieve a high standard of schooling for all students. Describes and evaluates one successful inner-city…

Describes hardships of Hispanic migrant workers and their families living and working in the United States, and how these conditions effect young children. Focuses particularly on Migrant Head Start and discusses components of programs and services offered; special challenges of migrant education; how teachers respond to migrant children's special…

The focus of this article is a research and development project underway in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The project is Toronto First Duty, reflecting that the "first duty of a state is to see that every child born therein shall be well-housed, clothed, fed, and educated, till it attain years of discretion," according to 19th century…

This qualitative study investigated mothers' views about their role in their children's education and their expectations of their child's preschool. A particular focus of the study was to contrast the views of mothers with differing degrees of parenting self-efficacy and to contrast the perceptions of working-class and middle-class mothers.…

This study uses data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-1999 (ECLS-K) to examine how children's skills and knowledge at kindergarten entry predict their achievement in later grades. It extends previous research by examining longer-term achievement outcomes, namely test scores at the end of fifth grade, and…

This report offers detailed recommendations to improve the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB), the current version of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). It is a call to action to provide educators with the tools and resources they need to do the important job of preparing our students to live productive and successful lives. The…

Americans rely on public schools to educate and prepare almost 50 million students to become productive members of society. Yet many public schools, particularly those in large cities, face significant challenges: over-crowded classrooms, shortages of highly-qualified teachers, low student achievement, achievement gaps, access to preschool, and…

The Optional Extended Year Program (OEYP), funded by a grant from the state, provides extended learning opportunities for students in kindergarten through grade 12 (K-12) who are at risk of academic failure. The primary focus of an OEYP is to reduce and ultimately eliminate the need for student grade-level retention by providing additional…