Students with behavioral or learning disabilities are important resources for their community. Through two service-learning projects (reading to elementary-school students and interviewing senior citizens), special-needs students at one New Jersey middle school gained confidence in their skills and developed a sense of pride and community…

This commentary on "The Effects of Family-Centered Service Coordination: A Social Validity Study" (Romer), discusses the challenges of implementing family-centered service coordination and variables such as caseload size, models of service coordination, and models of staff development that might have an impact on these challenges. (CR)

Criticizes the research design in "The Small ICF/MR program: Dimensions of Quality and Cost" (Conroy), that found small Intermediate Care Facilities (ICF) for individuals with mental retardation are inferior to other community programs. Discusses the problem in selecting a control group on the basis of pretest matching. (CR)

A study examined 10 exemplary bilingual educational programs to identify characteristics that contributed to the high academic performance of their students. Twenty-five indicators of success were identified in the areas of school leadership, support, and instructional practices. All 10 programs were committed to maintaining students' primary…

The implementation of a school-wide discipline plan based on the Effective Behavior Support model in nine elementary and middle schools, in addition to the Second Step violence prevention curriculum, resulted in reductions of discipline referrals, improved social skill knowledge, improved school operations, and motivation to continue with the…

This introductory article discusses the large numbers of infants and young children affected by behavioral and emotional problems that pose salient challenges for clinical assessment and management. It examines barriers to the delivery of mental health services and stresses the need to develop data concerning efficacy and effectiveness of…

Two American teachers in a Korean school used their expertise with song and dance to teach social skills to an inclusive group of kindergartners. The group of 10 included three children with disabilities. The children with disabilities showed behavior changes in both appropriate response behaviors and inappropriate response behaviors. (Contains…

A team of university and school personnel applied layers of interventions across 2 years to 34 students who fell below their class averages in reading skills in kindergarten and first grade. Although reading failure rates declined, the interventions did not significantly decrease the proportion of children identified for special education.…

Contends that creating a program that reflects diversity and equity is an evolving process. Presents common markers whereby programs can judge individual levels on the multicultural and antibias education journey. Lists indicators for program evaluation, first steps and advanced steps characteristic of a multicultural-education program. (SD)

Describes Partners in Human Rights Education in which the Universal Declaration of Human Rights provides the framework for using interactive teaching methods to relate human-rights concepts to students' lives. Highlights Amnesty International's "Urgent Action Network" that encourages children to become lobbyists in a letter-writing…

Describes experiences in instituting a personal ownership laptop programme for 10 and 11 year-olds. Argues that learning with laptops captivates and empowers students, making them more self-motivated and task-oriented. There is increased risk-taking, as students work at their own pace, and in their own time. Furthermore, creativity is encouraged.…

Describes the development of "One America" at Glendale Community College (California), a program involving student project coordinators who work on specific issue areas and coordinate a series of presentations and workshops. The program identified five areas of concern: diversity, HIV/AIDS, women's issues, gay and lesbian issues, and…

Policy makers are turning away from individual performance pay, favoring school-based rewards that expand curriculum or fund other improvements. Indiana, Kentucky, South Carolina, and Texas have adopted performance-based rewards and sanctions. Policy makers must balance state and local control and align performance indicators with school…

Analyzes the outcomes of a learning assessment approach used at a Midwest community college. Reports that data were obtained from students' scores on prompts and the college's student information management system. Finds that: (1) 76% of prompts were scored at a level that indicated students met general education achievement levels; and (2) 55% of…

Examined relationships between teachers' amenability to implementing anti-tobacco programs and features of implementation settings. Telephone surveys of Florida middle and high school teachers indicated that after controlling for other school and community factors, classroom activities remained significant predictors of program effectiveness.…