Describes an academically-oriented English-as-a-Second-Language program at an urban community college in the Southwest that aggressively recruited international students, particularly from the Pacific Rim. Discusses the differences between immigrant and international students, such as attitudes and motivation toward learning English and…

Explores why mental health has been a contested issue in Head Start and describes recent efforts to bring mental health closer to the center of the program agenda. Describes areas of challenge and innovation that might further the program goal of improving the well-being of parents and children in poverty. Concludes with recommendations for…

A Tennessee district counsels seniors lacking sufficient credits to consider General Education Development (GED) tutoring. African-American females are generally "pulled out" by family reasons; African-American males feel "pushed out," following suspensions and expulsions. Potential dropouts are deterred by an alternative high school and a…

Research from the Kaleidoscope Preschool Arts Enrichment Program, developed by Philadelphia's Settlement Music School, shows that the arts prepare children for further learning. Initiated in 1990, Kaleidoscope provides young inner-city children with full-day instruction three or four times weekly in visual arts, music, dance, and drama. Students…

The Memphis Maps program, a collaborative effort of Memphis (Tennessee) educational institutions, public agencies, a bank, and community programs, trains local students in Geographic Information Systems technology and provides the community with valuable demographic and assessment information. The program is described, and factors contributing to…

School violence is more likely in schools located in high-crime areas, in large schools with large classes, in schools containing a large percentage of male students, and in schools with weak administrators. The "Practical Intelligence" curriculum enables middle-school youths who are not classically successful students to make a contribution and…

The Families First program in Oregon's Marion County Education Service District provides 130 Hispanic families with the support, resources, and reinforcement needed to participate in the culturally appropriate education of their preschool children in a home environment. Besides attending twice-monthly topical meetings, one member of each family…

An oral testing method used in an intensive high school Spanish program is based on a model of communicative competence positing four forms of competence: strategic; sociolinguistic; discourse; and linguistic. All oral domains but linguistic are tested in the first and second years. In the first year, benchmark testing occurs. The rubric used has…

Describes the World Links for Development (WorLD) program, a World Bank effort to bring the Internet to 40 developing countries to connect 1500 secondary schools for collaborative project-based learning. Discusses the World Bank's role in development; program objectives, focus of training, financing, and goals; and lessons learned. (PEN)

A rural Canadian secondary school developed a cross-age peer-assisted summer program to improve academic achievement and career awareness. Although there was no significant improvement in math grades for female participants, 91 percent of students claimed the program helped them in their present courses. Other outcomes included improved academic…

Describes a one-year research project in a Western Australia primary school in a low socioeconomic area, which has a Khmer-English bilingual program to develop and extend children's English and Khmer language and literacy. Discusses findings concerning the children's written progress in both languages, and children's perceptions of their identity…

Chronicles efforts of faculty members at the institutions of the Associated Colleges of the South to create "Sunoikisis," a virtual department of Greek and Roman Studies. The long-term goal of the project is to expand the academic opportunities available to undergraduates at small liberal arts colleges for studying the languages, literatures, and…

Schools can reduce special-education and remedial instruction costs by helping students succeed in early grades. This article profiles several prevention and early intervention programs, including Success for All, Reading Recovery, Prevention of Learning Disabilities, the Carolina Abecedarian Project, Comer's School Development Program, and…

Includes a collection of eight short articles describing model community college programs. Discusses a literacy program, a mobile computer classroom, a support program for at-risk students, a timber-harvesting program, a multimedia presentation on successful women graduates, a career center, a collaboration with NASA, and an Israeli engineering…

Describes Storytelling and Rural Areas (SARA) program for children and families at Longreach School of Distance Education (Central Queensland). SARA promotes children's oral language skills, self-confidence, and social construction. Explores ways storytelling assists this development. Notes how SARA provides links between home and school and…