Youthlearn News Archive 2004

The Kids Count 2004 Data Book, released by The Annie E. Casey Foundation, is available online. Users can generate custom graphs, maps, ranked lists, and state-by-state profiles or download the entire data set as delimited text files.

Preschool children who use a computer appear to develop better learning skills than peers who lack computer savvy, researchers said Monday.

In a study of 122 children aged 3 to 5, those exposed to a home or school computer either alone or with someone else three to four times a week scored higher on tests that gauge school readiness and cognitive development than non-users, said the study published in the journal Pediatrics.

'What happens after school?' asks Susan Black. Researchers studying after-school time -- also referred to as out-of-school time -- have some answers. Richard Halpern, with Chicago's Erickson Institute for Graduate Study in Child Development, says the best programs give kids opportunities to explore and learn, as well as time to 'dawdle and daydream.'

After-school programs sponsored by schools and community agencies are well-intentioned, he says, but many simply extend the school day with homework and study sessions.

Beginning this fall, fifth- and sixth-grade students in a school district outside Dallas, Texas, will begin using laptops instead of textbooks.

The initiative of the Forney Independent School District is the latest in a series of projects aimed at replacing printed versions of texts with electronic ones. The laptops in Forney will be loaded with electronic versions of textbooks, works of art, and literature.

The district will spend about $1,000 per computer and another $500 per student for wireless access and support.

The Safe and Drug-Free Schools-Mentoring Programs grant provides assistance to promote mentoring programs for children with greatest need that: (1) assist these children in receiving support and guidance from a mentor; (2) improve the academic performance of the children; (3) improve interpersonal relationships between the children and their peers, teachers, other adults, and family members; (4) reduce the dropout rate of the children; and (5) reduce juvenile delinquency and involvement in gangs by the children.