Digital Commons Network^™

Alternative Education Programs: Program And Student Characteristics, Regina M. Foley, Lang-Sze Pang

Special Topics, General

Alternative education programs are often viewed as individualized opportunities designed to meet the educational needs for youth identified as at-risk for school failure. Increasingly, these programs have been identified as programs for disruptive youth who have been referred from traditional schools. The purpose of this study was to examine the characteristics of the administrative structures and physical facilities of alternative education programs and to describe the student population and educational services being offered to youth attending such programs. The findings suggest programs appear to be largely site-based programs, often operating in physical facilities with limited access to academic suppm1s. The …

Using Hypermedia And Multimedia To Promote Project-Based Learning Of At-Risk High School Students, Tracy Carr, Asha K. Jitendra

Special Topics, General

The term at-risk in this article refers to those students who are in danger of dropping out of school (Rodriguez, 199i). Often, these students have low self-esteem resulting from persistently low academic achievement. One possible reason for academic failure is a mismatch between the student's needs and the curricular expectations. Consequently, it is important to plan to meet individual student needs appropriately and minimize the rate of dropouts. Planning more appropriately requires individualization of goals and curricula.

Service Strategies And Programs To Help Incarcerated Youth: A Training Program For Volunteers, Teresita Bolivar

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For more than thirty years, AmeriCorps*VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) members have been serving disadvantaged communities. The program is dedicated to increasing the capability of people to improve the conditions of their lives.

Foster Grandparents are part of the National Senior Service Corps, a network of more than a half-million seniors who are making a difference as volunteers. Since 1965 the Foster Grandparents Program has tapped the experience, skills, talents, interests and creativity of seniors age 55 and older. They serve 20 hours a week in: schools, hospitals, day care centers, homes for abused and abandoned children, Head Start, …

The Progress Of Education Reform 1999-2001: Youth Violence, Suzanne Weiss

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Three strategies to stem the tide of youth violence: Prenatal and infant care; small schools; and service-learning.

Service-Learning: An Education Strategy For Preventing School Violence, Carol Kinsley

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Recent headlines provide ample testimony of dramatic, heart-stopping incidents of youth violence - at every socioeconomic level, in every age group, and across rural, suburban and urban areas. What were once seen as isolated outbursts have multiplied in such a way that they no longer can be thought of as random incidents.

Many factors underlie violent behavior in schools. Easy access to guns, violent movies and video games, poor and even destructive parenting, social upheaval in schools, minority status and, not least, violence in the home arc all potential "enablers" of violent behavior on the part of students. But these …

"Promoting Peace And Preventing Violence" Lions-Quest Skills For Action, Rich Cairn

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Students at Bishop Ford Catholic Central High School in Brooklyn, New York have completed several violence-prevention service projects as part of their participation in the Skills for Action program. Seniors facilitated eight-week sessions to orient freshmen, including conflict resolution and role playing.

Partners: The Shared Service Experience, Big Brothers/Big Sisters Of America

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Partners: The Shared Service Experience documents Big Brothers/ Big Sisters of America's (BB/BSA's) first national initiative designed to encourage Big Brother-Little Brother and Big Sister-Little Sister pairs to become partners in community service. Big Brothers/Big Sisters (BB/BS) agencies, and the volunteers they rely on to provide service to children and youth, can have a far-reaching positive effect on local communities. The key is to educate adults and youth about the individual and societal benefits of community service activities. This gives the "Littles" an opportunity to take on "Big" roles by contributing to their neighborhoods.

Using Law-Related Education As An Intervention With "High-Risk" Youth, Drake Buzzell

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During these times of scarce resources, policymakers are increasingly devoting more attention to areas where they feel they can make the greatest impact. Many local and state policy discussions are focusing on the relationship of "high-risk" youth, crime, and drug abuse Policymakers as well as social service program directors are particularly interested in the factors contributing to the likelihood that a young person will abuse alcohol or other drugs, and engage in delinquent behavior. We have known for some time that there is a significant correlation between these two behaviors. What is perhaps ironic is that we are back to …

Preliminary Review Of Research In Service Learning, James Krug, Richard J. Kraft

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The following cursory review is taken from the Literature Review on Service Learning conducted by Mr. James Krug (1991) at the University of Colorado. Mr. Krug's research has been on the effects of service learning on four groups of high school young people: at-risk youth in a special program, student assistants (primarily minority) within the school, nature guides, and tutors at a primary school. Preliminary results indicate that, while all the experimental groups gained on measures of potency, activity involvement in the community, self-concept and other factors, the statistically significant growth at the .01 and .05 levels was found almost …

Reciprocity: A Major Paradigm Shift, John A. Calhoun

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It is not news to the youth-serving community that something new is afoot regarding how we think about and work with youth.

Well known is the stir on the national level: President Bush's YES initiative; numerous pieces of congressional legislation whose proposals range from school-based programs through conservation and urban corps to mandated national service. Locally, projects of various sorts are springing up in schools, youth-serving agencies and in other organizations whose functions impinge on youth.

Not so well known-or fully understood-is a key notion that could well be lost amid the legitimate clamor and enthusiasm for the concept, namely, …

Violence, Youth And A Way Out, John A. Calhoun

Special Topics, General

It is a conviction shared by those who care for young people and their families that violence among youth has reached intolerable levels and that a response is demanded. The homicide statistics are chilling: In 1986, four to five people under age 18 were murdered per day, 10 percent more than in 1985. Equally chilling, three to four people under 18 were arrested for murder every day, a seven percent increase over 1985.

Helping The Community: An Untapped Resource For Troubled Children, Alec J. Allen, Martin L. Mitchell

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All too often adults have cornered the market on helping. They work within voluntary organizations and church groups to meet the needs of the community. for many this service continues within their jobs as educators and social service providers. Occasionally a place is cast aside for youth to participate. The challenge becomes how to involve troubled youth in helping others to reap the benefits popularized in the phrase "It is more blessed to give than to receive." If there is strength to be derived from.giving, then let us be creative in sharing these opportunities with those who have more to …