Early Care and Education for Children in Immigrant Families - This issue of "The Future of Children" journal includes an article on immigrant families' access to early care and education programs. The authors find that while the gap seems to be narrowing, immigrant children are still significantly less likely to participate than their native-born peers in center-based early childhood programs. They note that given the body of research showing the benefits of high-quality early education for English language learners and immigrant children, this persistent trend can negatively impact both these children and society. (Brookings Institution/Princeton University, Spring 2011)...

Key Readings on Policy Levers to Promote Social Inclusion and Respect for Diversity in Early Childhood - To help early childhood programs more effectively serve an increasingly ethnically-diverse population, the National Center for Children in Poverty produced a list of key readings for policy makers and program administrators that help them examine practices in workforce and leadership development, accreditation and quality improvement, learning standards and child assessments. (Mariajose Romero, National Center for Children in Poverty, July 2010)...

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities - This report examines the educational progress and challenges of students in the U.S. by race/ethnicity. It shows that over time, the numbers of students of each race/ethnicity who have completed high school and continued their education in college have increased. Despite these gains, the rate of progress has varied, and differences persist among Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, Asians, Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders, American Indians/Alaska Natives and students of two or more races in their performance on key indicators of educational performance. (National Center for Education Statistics, July 2010)...

Educational Crisis Facing Young Men of Color: Reflections on Four Days of Dialogue on the Educational Challenges of Minority Males - This startling report details something we cannot ignore. It is clear that American males are not completing high school or college at acceptable rates. Something is going on in American communities and classrooms at both educational levels to produce these disparities--common across all racial and ethnic categories. This report calls attention to the current circumstances but also provides a hopeful perspective on how the nation might make real progress in addressing the underlying issues. (The College Board, January 2010)...

Breaking Down Barriers: Immigrant Families and Early Childhood Education in New York City - This report from the Coalition for Asian American Children and Families details the challenges that immigrant families have in tapping into New York City's early education system, including linguistic barriers, limited availability of full working-day programs, and misperceptions about eligibility criteria. (Rasmia Kirmani and Vanessa Leung, The Coalition for Asian American Children and Families, May 2008)...

Ed-Excel Assessment of Secondary School Student Culture Tabulations by School District and Race/Ethnicity: Responses from Middle School, Junior High and High School Student - Black and Hispanic adolescents care as much about succeeding in school as their white and Asian peers. Among students who take the same level courses, there is no difference in the amount of time black, white and Hispanic students reported spending on their homework. This survey of 40,000 middle and high school students examines racial patterns in their aspirations, as well as their feelings toward teachers and peers. (Minority Student Achievement Network, 2002)...