Creating a classroom environment which is conducive to learning is one of the most important things a teacher can do. This becomes even more crucial as students enter classrooms with their cell phones, pagers, and beepers. Additionally, many students are tardy for class, leave early, or may not appear in class on numerous occasions. Therefore,…

High rates of dropping out from mental health services are documented for children and their families. These high rates exist at different treatment stages, in different service settings, and for different populations of children and families. Some researchers have developed and tested engagement interventions to address barriers to service access…

An integrative review of literature was undertaken to examine the impact of children's mental health on their school success. The literature confirmed a confluence of problems associated with school performance and child and adolescent mental health. Poor academic functioning and inconsistent school attendance were identified as early signs of…

This study analyzed the impact of school nurses on economic efficiency. Public schools must provide resources such as books, teachers, and buses necessary to accommodate all enrolled students even if all students do not come to school every day and even if some leave school before the end of the school day. To the extent that resources are…

When a New York school district found a majority of its middle school students scoring below an acceptable level in four major academic areas, it tried many interventions, including a three-year experiment in single-gender classrooms. Although single-gender classrooms are no longer as common in the United States as in years past, recent…

There is a vast body of literature on school size but comparatively few high quality empirical studies comparing outcomes in schools of different sizes. This systematic review synthesizes the results of the published research from 31 studies on the effects of secondary school size from OECD countries since 1990. Overall the directions and patterns…

Forty-eight toddlers aged 17 to 31 months attending long-day childcare participated in this project, which examined some of the influences of the day-care context on their emerging pretend play. Ninety minutes of video-taped observations were collected for each participant as they engaged in free play with their same-age peers and their…

Today's welfare system does not encourage postsecondary education, focusing instead on immediate employment. The loss of postsecondary education as a route out of poverty may be detrimental to some women. College graduation is associated with lower rates of recidivism and post-welfare poverty than attendance without graduation or no attendance.…

This document presents data on Wisconsin school performance for 1993-94. Data were derived from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI), private firms that administer assessments, and Wisconsin's 427 public school districts and the state schools for the deaf and visually handicapped. The report includes introductory material,…

This booklet presents a collection of seven practitioner research reports conducted by individuals employed through adult basic education (ABE), Graduate Equivalency Diploma (GED), and English as a second language (ESL) programs and funded by the Iowa State Staff Development Committee. The practitioner research presented in the collection gives…

For the past 2 years, a pilot program to reduce student absenteeism has been implemented in a medium-sized city participating in the New Futures Initiative. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the outcomes of the Chronic Absenteeism Pilot (CAP) project. The New Futures Initiative engaged in interagency efforts to provide…

Tracking the changes in the community college from the 1960's to the 1980's, this report focuses on attendance patterns of community college students and relates them to students' educational objectives, fields of study, and demographic characteristics. The report relies on findings from the National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of…

In the Maryland community colleges, a Success Rate Indicator is used to measure student success and is determined from the graduation, transfer, and still-enrolled status of a cohort of first-time full-time students after 4 years. The information is obtained by matching enrollment and graduation files from all public colleges in Maryland. Students…

This evaluation study addresses the effectiveness of weekly attendance mailer letters sent to parents of students with irregular attendance patterns at 22 Detroit, Michigan, high schools. Three questions researched were: (1) Are the letters effective in reducing the occurrence of in-school truancy? (2) Are letters an effective means of…

An overview is provided of problems and potential solutions associated with high dropout rates at community colleges. The first sections look at the extent and nature of the dropout problem, highlighting some of the causes of student discontinance, the costs to the individual and society, and the paradox of open access and student retention in…