The Reconnecting Youth (RY) program offers a carefully designed, research-validated model for building strength and competence in at-risk students, transforming risk into resilience. This manual was written to assist group leaders in implementing the RY program. The overall purpose of the program is to reach high-risk youth, who are on a potential…

This report examines the crime prevention potential of child care and after-school programs for at-risk children and youth. Part 1 of the report, "Assessing the Crime Prevention Impact of Child Care and After-School Programs," presents research information on the effectiveness of early childhood/parenting skills training and after-school…

The Human Services Policy Center of Washington undertook a study of communication strategies for protecting children because of the perception among many leading child protection professionals that a distorted pattern of media coverage is driving child protection policies toward responding to the small proportion of atypical cases which the media…

School violence in British Columbia (Canada) is directly related to youth alienation and disconnectedness. The Native concept of connectedness or sense of belonging can be a useful guide for assessing the effectiveness of school violence programs. Connectedness, in this context, indicates that humans are part of a seamless web of creation in which…

Noting that thousands of young children with the capacity to experience school success do not because they are unprepared for school learning activities, have experienced physical or emotional setbacks that cause them to be at risk for early learning failure, have never experienced limits on their behavior, or have mild sensory or motor deficits,…

This report presents case studies of nine successful programs designed to reduce alcohol and substance abuse among American Indians and Alaska Natives. These case studies highlight effective solutions developed within tribal communities and combining Western and traditional approaches to build upon the strengths of the respective Indian…

Mexican immigrant youth lag behind other immigrant groups in educational completion and achievement, but many resilient Mexican immigrant youth have overcome tough odds to succeed. This digest examines the research about resiliency and some promising programs for Mexican American youth. Resiliency theory identifies protective factors present in…

This case study was developed as a supplement to the U. S. Department of Education publication Understanding Evaluation: The Way to Better Prevention Programs. Its purpose is to help readers get a feel for what is involved in setting up an evaluation of a college alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention program. Although Understanding Evaluation…

This brief document provides information about the nationwide reading initiative, Reading First, in the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Reading First is a focused effort to improve reading skills of students in kindergarten through third grade. First, information is provided on unique characteristics of the Reading First program and requirements…

As required by Tennessee law, this report examines the state's zero-tolerance disciplinary data collected by the Tennessee Department of Education for school years 1999-00, 2000-01, and 2001-02. The first section displays statewide zero-tolerance statistics. The second section focuses on the zero-tolerance statistics of Tennessee's five major…

This document is comprised of volume 2 of a quarterly bulletin for educators in Australia providing a practical focus to improving boys' schooling. The April 1999 issue focuses on the role of school executives, or administrators, on supporting educational initiatives. This issue includes articles describing the development of a program-based…

This digest discusses the need for troubled students to receive habilitative services instead of haphazard punishment, then outlines sources of frustration for aggressive students and stages of frustration (anxiety, stress, defensiveness, physical aggression, and tension reduction), and appropriate responses. Teachers are advised to prevent…

This final report describes the outcomes of four demonstration projects, funded in 1990 in Oregon, on early identification and prevention of mental and emotional disorders in children. The intention of the projects was to find ways to identify children who are at risk of suffering emotional disorders and intervene early enough to prevent these…

School district associations across the country have often opposed charter school legislation as strongly, or more strongly, than have teachers unions. They typically argue charter schools will threaten the tradition of local control of schools by elected officials, drain their financial resources, and distract them from pursuing…