This conference address discusses New York State programs for children and families, focusing on a mentoring program. New York State has 44 rural counties, which comprise 80% of the state's total area. Rural schools face limited financial resources and access to services. Rural school children are more likely to face failure than urban or suburban…

Destructive and criminal hate crime takes place more and more often among students in elementary and secondary schools. This sourcebook introduces school district personnel and collaborative agencies to programs and resources that might help curtail hate crime and reduce the bigotry that inspires it. Part 1 of this two-part sourcebook provides…

This compilation of ERIC Digests describes issues, highlights exemplary programs and promising practices, and explains research results that can assist educators in achieving the far-reaching national education goals adopted by the President and the governors in 1990. The two lead digests are "An Overview of the Six National Education…

This newsletter issue is about the growth of programs that serve infants, toddlers, and their families, and the management of that growth. The articles address early intervention programs with infants and young children with disabilities. The first article, "Implementing a Multi-site, Multidisciplinary Clinical Trial: The Infant Health and…

An alternative high school program was evaluated. In 1990 the Program for Alternative Comprehensive Education (PACE) enrolled 40 students in grades 9 through 12 from 20 school districts in Nassau County (New York). Students had been assessed as being at risk for dropping out. The curriculum emphasized self-paced learning in an individualized,…

A drug abuse prevention curriculum for middle school students in grades five through eight is presented in this document, one of a series that is designed to provide educators with the curricular tools necessary to challenge students to take personal responsibility for their health. Each of the 11 lessons includes information of the lesson…

New Futures, founded in 1987, is a multicity foundation-funded initiative designed to reduce the school dropout rate, teen pregnancies, and youth unemployment. The foundation's expectations for a 5-year agenda and program strategies are described in this implementation guide. Based on institutional change, the project utilizes community…

Although the emphasis on adult literacy/basic education is increasing, the high dropout rate from programs in these areas is a concern. Why learners choose to participate or not to participate in such programs can be understood in terms of three sets of factors. Learner-inherent factors include self-evaluation, goals, and capabilities. Life…

This collection of short articles, devoted to educational reform at the local level, addresses the issues of improving curricula, expanding educational resources, addressing dropout and discipline problems, and handling increased court involvement in school reform. "The Sceptre, the Rod and the Schoolhouse Gate," by Lawrence Friedman, traces the…

Established in 1970 and operated by the Association for the Advancement of Mexican Americans, the George I. Sanchez Junior Senior High School (Houston, Texas) is an alternative school for Hispanics in grades 7-12. The school, staffed originally by volunteers, acquired a full-time executive director in 1973, established relations whith the Houston…

An award winning project for teaching economics at the fifth-grade level is described. Content is based on the theme of the economic repercussions of petty crime. As an initial activity, students examine the economic effects of local vandalism on the community and the taxpayers. Throughout the year, rap sessions provide a vehicle for class…

Awareness activities pertaining to cancer and cardiovascular disease are presented as a supplement for high school science classes. The exercises can be used to enrich units of study dealing with the circulatory system, the cell, or human diseases. Eight activities deal with the following topics: (1) cardiovascular disease risk factors; (2)…

This document is designed to help secondary school health education staff, primarily teachers, identify materials and resources for planning, developing, and conducting programs for substance abuse prevention and education. The criteria used for materials selection and questions to use in adapting the materials to local needs are provided. The…

Current practice for assessing children and adolescents rely on objectively scored deficit-based models and/or informal assessments to determine how maladaptive behaviors affect performance. Social-emotional assessment instruments are used in schools and typically provide information related to behavioral and emotional deficits, but provide little…

This first of a series of four interrelated studies reviewed the current participation rates of Western Australia's Aborigines in technical and further education (TAFE) courses, surveyed 101 students in the Aboriginal Access course to identify problems they had, and surveyed teachers in the Access course and in mainstream vocational courses to…