Describes the use of Friday Forums (school assemblies and special classes) for students at Kellogg Middle School in Shoreline, Washington, to provide release time for teachers to engage in professional-development activities through the Critical Friends Groups. (PKP)

Describes how staff of coeducational academy in Pune, India, use an annual, 2-day retreat to celebrate diversity and unity, share ideas, explore expectations and stereotypes, and articulate values. (PKP)

Describes several ways that schools can use the tragic events of September 11 to teach students life-enhancing lessons. (PKP)

Describes anorexia and bulimia, two eating disorders that affect adolescent females more frequently than males. Discusses causes, effects, and treatments of these two eating disorders. Describes what teachers can do to identify students with these disorders and help those who suffer from them. (PKP)

Reviews research on the role mentoring plays in recruiting and retaining minority teachers. (PKP)

A conversation with Larry Cuban, Professor Emeritus of Education at Stanford University, about two contradictory trends in education: customization and standardization and their effect on the public schools' responsibilities to provide both individual and social benefits. (PKP)

Argues for less standardization and more diversification in public education. Responds to several common concerns about diversification: Loss of the common school, inequality, lack of curriculum coherence, and problems in rural settings. Asserts that parents should be allowed to select among several meaningful options for their children's…

Study of school choice in the Boulder Valley School District in Boulder, Colorado, finds increased stratification of schools according to race, ethnicity, and income created by open-enrollment procedures. Per-pupil costs and money raised through fund raising were higher in choice schools, as was student achievement. Recommends actions to limit the…

Describes the development, attributes, and value of a democratic core curriculum, such as integrating self-interest and the common good, and valuing diversity. Argues that a democratic core curriculum should be available to students at all levels of public education. (Contains 12 references.) (PKP)

Describes attributes of Met School, a small urban public high school in Providence, Rhode Island, where the individual student is the primary focus of instruction. Powerful relationships, high standards and expectations, and student interests and real work are the hallmarks of the instructional program. (PKP)

Argues that vouchers do not improve student achievement, hurt public schools, exclude many students, go to students who do not need them, and decrease accountability. Reform efforts should be directed to turning around failing public schools. (Contains 29 references.) (PKP)

Based on data from five educational voucher programs in the United States, argues that voucher schools do not "cream" the best students, do serve special-needs students, can improve academic achievement, do not increase racial segregation, and do not harm public schools. Explains why African Americans support educational vouchers. (Contains 18…

Asserts that opponent's predictions that school choice would result in mass exodus of students and a disparate impact on public schools have failed to materialize. Argues that disadvantaged students, especially blacks, in inner-city schools are the principal beneficiaries of voucher programs. (Contains 13 references.) (PKP)

Describes why home school is a natural environment for customizing instruction to meet the individual needs of students, especially those with special needs and talents. (Contains 19 references.) (PKP)

Describes the Community-Assisted Schooling Alternatives (CASA) Vida Home School Enrichment Center, a K-6 center developed by Arizona's Kyrene School District for 120 home-schooled students. (PKP)