Philadelphia School Research Articles

Inner-City “Schoolboy” Life

Academically oriented young males, or “schoolboys,” who reside in inner-city communities are often required to choose between their home and their school and are at risk of becoming alienated from either community, with far-reaching and dire consequences. The two cultures are often mutually antagonistic, and most students are severely challenged when trying to maintain a balance. The author uses relevant insights from his own childhood to approach his ongoing research with African American male students in a college preparatory magnet high school in Philadelphia.

Conventions of the Heart: When Content Dictates Form

volved in teaching students the conventions of a five-paragraph essay or a letter of application, the conventions that worry me are the conventions of the heart. One English Journal reviewer for this article described them far more eloquently than I could, identifying my subject as navigating the serpentine line between the personal and the public, the private and the professional. The reviewer said I was working with teaching conventions that posed pedagogical and ethical questions for me as a teacher as well as for my student as a writer. I thought I was just telling the story of how Jamie, my student, came to be a writer, but now I see that the story is about my learning teaching conventions as much as it is about Jamie's learning writing conventions. First, it is important to know that I am not a hugger. My father, a teacher of thirty years before me, was a hugger (He taught elementary school, why not hug?), but he no longer is. I watched him hug his students when he taught in the Philadelphia school district years ago, but society soon beat the hugs out of him, and by the time I was going through teacher training he said to me, You'll want to. Sometimes it's the only thing a student needs, but don't do it. Keep your hugs to yourself. And so I do.

The Larger Purpose of Public Schools

While there are points on which they can agree, Ms. Nathan questions whether Mr. Hess is truly interested in strengthening education. AT TIMES I want to cheer for Frederick Hess' words in What Is a 'Public School'? Principles for a New Century. How true it is that many reformers regard schooling as a politicized obstacle rather than a shared ideal. How true that of us committed to the promise of education are obliged to see that the idea does not become a tool of vested interests. Yet there is also something chilling about his article that stops the cheer in my throat. His use of innuendo in place of evidence, his sloppy logic, and his attacks on some of the most effective school reformers -- painting them as the enemy -- suggest that his real agenda is not strengthening education but privatizing it through vouchers and for-profit takeover schemes. Hess' labored analysis obscures a simple fact: schools have a larger and democratic purpose than private and parochial schools (although this is not to say that these schools contribute nothing to life). Public school systems are open to everyone regardless of disability, wealth, status, race, or religion. Private and parochial schools are not. While some are open than others, they can have entrance exams and can explicitly exclude students with disabilities or those who otherwise don't fit a profile. And of course they can also exclude those who can't pay. They can expel students who cause trouble, at their sole discretion, without recourse. Hess himself acknowledges this core principle of universal access, conceding that schooling an obligation to ensure that all students are appropriately served. But he seems indifferent to the inequities inherent in his more expansive notion of what makes a school public. Hess makes a false analogy when he equates schools that buy textbooks from for-profit companies with schools that are managed by for-profit firms. Basic educational decisions should be made by of the local school -- not by distant shareholders looking only at a corporate balance sheet. (It's ironic that Hess picks as his exemplar Edison Schools, Inc., which sold off the textbooks, computers, lab supplies, and musical instruments of the Philadelphia schools it had been hired to manage just days before school was to open in 2002 in order to pay down the company's mounting debt.) Hess objects to teaching and affirming diversity because, he says, these words are open to multiple interpretations. Then he states that public schools should children the essential skills and knowledge that make for productive citizens and teach them to respect our constitutional order, as if these were absolute truths not open to interpretation. The example of tolerance he cites, wherein a radical Muslim is calling for jihad, slyly exploits a hot-button issue to imply that the professional community of educators condones terrorism. Similarly, he smears the notion of defending tolerance as uniformly teaching students to accept teen pregnancy as normal and implies that liberals equate these activities with their definition of public schooling. Nonsense. His attack on Deborah Meier, Alfie Kohn, and others is equally baseless. It's the classic straw man fallacy: he attributes a position to them -- that they oppose the teaching of basic academic mastery in favor of promoting preferred social values -- that they have in fact never espoused. Meier's argument, with which Hess is surely familiar, is that such a tradeoff is unnecessary and that strong academic habits and mastery of literacy are essential and are furthered by an intellectually open and challenging spirit of inquiry. The Coalition of Essential Schools, another of Hess' targets, gets similar treatment. …

The birth of stereotactic surgery: a personal retrospective.

The field of human stereotactic surgery was born at Temple Medical School in Philadelphia in 1947, with Ernst A. Spiegel and Henry T. Wycis its parents. I had the great fortune of walking into Dr. Spiegel's laboratory as a freshman medical student looking for a summer research project in 1956, when the field was just emerging from its infancy, and worked with Spiegel and Wycis for most of the next 13 years and Rolf Hassler the following year. The perspective of the early growth of the field of stereotactic surgery from this unique position and my wanderings through the field as it grew, contracted, and then blossomed are presented.

Lead-contaminated drinking waters in the public schools of Philadelphia.

Lead exposure is a preventable environmental health concern. Young children between the ages of 1 to 6 are most susceptible to its clinical effects. This article reports the results of lead level determinations in the drinking water of Philadelphia's public school buildings and remediation efforts aimed at dealing with this public health concern. Water samples were collected from drinking sources in 292 school buildings in Philadelphia from May 2000 through January 2001. These samples were collected and sent to reference laboratories for determination of lead levels. A total of 42.5% (124) of schools had water lead levels not exceeding the action level of 20 ppb, of which 3.1% had nondetectable levels or levels less than 5 ppb. A total of 28.7% of buildings had water lead levels ranging from 20 to 50 ppb, 11.6% had levels between 50-100 ppb, and 17.1% had water lead levels of 100 ppb or more. A total of 57.4% of Philadelphia's public school buildings had water lead levels exceeding the Environmental Protection Agencies (EPA) action level of 20 ppb, and 28.7% of school buildings had water with mean lead levels in excess of 50 ppb. Depending on the volume of water consumed, drinking water from school buildings may be a significant source of lead exposure for children in their formative years of development. Although Philadelphia's public school buildings were evaluated, lead-contaminated drinking water in schools is not only an urban concern. School buildings in suburban and rural areas may have similar water lead levels, and testing programs are desirable.

Sex Differences in Empathy and Its Relation to Juvenile Offending

Implicit in most theoretical accounts of sex differences in offending is the assumption that females are less likely than males to engage in crime—especially serious, violent crime—in part because of their comparatively higher levels of concern for others and stronger affiliative ties. Much research suggests that significant sex differences in both empathy and serious offending emerge in adolescence, with females displaying notably higher levels of empathy and males engaging in notably higher levels of serious offending. However, there has been little empirical work assessing the degree to which sex differences in empathy among adolescents can account for sex differences in offending. This research uses data from a sample of adolescents attending public high schools in Philadelphia (<italic>n</italic> = 425) and a sample of adolescents incarcerated in the California Youth Authority (CYA) (<italic>n</italic> = 232) to examine the relation between empathy and serious offending. Results suggest that empathy acts as a protective factor for both males and females but that there are subtle differences among males and females in the relation between empathy and offending.

Conflict resolution and moral reasoning

AbstractThe effects of conflict resolution training on students' moral reasoning were examined in this five‐year study. Inspired by pilot studies that found increased attachment, cooperation, and prosocial skills in treatment classrooms, the study was conducted with elementary students (ten treatment groups and eight comparison groups) in a low‐income Philadelphia school and in two schools in a suburban low‐income district. Treatment group teachers were trained in integrated conflict resolution strategies, and they were provided ongoing support to ensure classroom implementation of conflict resolution skills. Treatment group students demonstrated significant improvement in moral reasoning.

Asthma in Philadelphia School

Asthma in Philadelphia School

BAD Time for Suicide

Like captured spies fingering the suicide pills in their pocket, cells caught in stressful situations must opt for life or death. Scientists have now unveiled the molecular details that underlie this choice: Growth factors change a suicide protein into one that prevents the cell's energy-production factory from spurring hara-kiri. The results also suggest how cells in live animals decide whether to destroy themselves. In organisms, cells subjected to insults such as radiation often die through a suicide process called apoptosis, but molecules known as growth factors can prevent such death. Previous research suggested that growth factors inactivate proteins that would otherwise lead cells to their doom. One of these proteins, BAD, is a member of the Bcl-2 family of apoptosis-promoting molecules (see "Death in the Balance" ) and triggers a cell's demise by mucking with the energy-production facilities called mitochondria--at least in the test tube. Datta and colleagues wanted to know how important BAD's function is to an organism, so they created mice with a genetic mutation that permanently activates the suicide pusher. Mice with unstoppable BAD develop almost normally, the team found, although the animals are slightly smaller than normal and lack a full supply of immune system cells. These results suggested that BAD doesn't assert itself during embryonic growth. The researchers therefore tested whether turning off the protein helps keep adult cells alive; perhaps, they reasoned, the immune cell loss stemmed from the BAD mutation. They added the growth factor interleukin-7 to cultured immune cells carrying unquenchable BAD. After 24 hours, half the normal number of these cells survived. These observations indicated that a growth factor encourages cell survival by exorcising BAD's death wish. Growth factors protect against stresses such as γ radiation, so the researchers tested whether that defense system requires BAD suppression. The growth factor IGF-1 killed more irradiated cultured skin cells with gung-ho BAD than those with a normal version of the protein, and irradiated mice with uncontrollable BAD died faster than did normal irradiated mice. These observations reveal that growth-promoting molecules must squelch BAD activity for beleaguered cells to survive. Because BAD kills cells in test tubes by mangling mitochondria, the researchers wondered whether the protein acts similarly in mice. They purified the organelles from immune cells and added a protein that causes suicide by disgorging a mitochondrial molecule called cytochrome c. Mitochondria with tenacious BAD regurgitated almost twice as much cytochrome c as did organelles with an unaltered version of the protein, indicating that normal BAD thwarts mitochondrial vomiting. "All the evidence that BAD had a role in apoptosis was [gathered from] contrived systems," says cell biologist Morris Birnbaum of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia; the new work shows for the first time that live mice use the BAD apoptotic pathway. The results "add weight to the emerging idea of an 'apoptotic threshold,' " where BAD and other molecules poise cells at the edge and wait for additional cues to push them toward life or death. Through such studies, researchers might eventually learn what's so BAD about suicidal tendencies. --Mary Beckman; suggested by Arjumand Ghazi S. R. Datta, A. M. Ranger, M. Z. Lin, J. F. Sturgill, Y.-C. Ma, C. W. Cowan, P. Dikkes, S. J. Korsmeyer, M. E. Greenberg, Survival factor-mediated BAD phosphorylation raises the mitochondrial threshold for apoptosis. Dev. Cell 3 , 631-643 (2002). [Abstract] [Full text]

The epidemiology of type 1 diabetes in children in Philadelphia 1990-1994: evidence of an epidemic.

To determine the epidemiology of type 1 diabetes in children in Philadelphia from 1990 to 1994, and to identify whether an epidemic occurred during that time period. This is a descriptive epidemiological study using a retrospective population-based registry in Philadelphia, PA, a city with large white, African-American, and Hispanic (Puerto Rican) populations. All hospitals in Philadelphia that admit children were identified. All charts meeting the following criteria were reviewed: 1) newly diagnosed type 1 diabetes, 2) children 0-14 years of age, 3) children residing in Philadelphia at the time of diagnosis, and 4) those diagnosed from 1 January 1990 to 31 December 1994. Standard type 1 diabetes registry data were abstracted from the charts. Ascertainment of the completeness of the hospital registry was validated by data from the Philadelphia School District. Communicable disease records were reviewed to identify epidemics from 1987 to 1995. A total of 209 cases were identified, and the combined hospital and school registry was determined to be 96% complete. The overall age-adjusted incidence rate in Philadelphia was 13.3/100,000/year. The highest rate by race continues to be in the Hispanic population (15.5). The incidence in African-American children has increased markedly (12.8), particularly in the 10- to 14-year age-group (22.9). An epidemic of type 1 diabetes occurred from January to June 1993, approximately 2 years after a measles epidemic in Philadelphia. The overall incidence of type 1 diabetes in Philadelphia is similar to other U.S. registries. The incidence in the Hispanic population continues to be among the highest of any U.S. ethnic group. The marked increase in incidence in the African-American population may be due in part to misclassification of cases actually having type 2 diabetes. The 1993 epidemic may have been due to beta-cell autoimmunity triggered by the measles virus.

How Poorly Were Philadelphia's Schools Really Doing?: Analyzing the State Takeover and the Explanations for What Happened

The Pennsylvania state government taking over the Philadelphia school system raises important questions about how poorly Philadelphia schools were actually doing. The city had enacted a number of reforms during the mid-1990s, from instituting full day schooling for Kindergarten to increased teacher training. Some claim that Philadelphia suffered from reduced funding from the state government. This study evaluates these reforms and claims using the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) Exam for the entire state of Pennsylvania from 1991 to 2001. Among the findings is that per pupil spending in Philadelphia during the 1990s was not significantly related to test scores and that the returns were significantly less for spending in the rest of the state.

VRrm Rrm: Rrm protein jump-starts idle DNA-copying equipment (Genome instability; DNA replication)

When a job becomes boring, a worker sometimes needs a kick in the pants. Inside yeast cells, proteins that copy DNA slack off occasionally, especially when the sequences get repetitive. New research identifies a protein that rouses these enzymes when they stall on monotonous stretches, such as those at the ends of chromosomes. By nudging the copying machinery through tedious DNA sections, the protein ensures chromosomal integrity. Because unstable genomes promote cancer and possibly aging, this protein might occupy a novel cranny in the cupboard of long life. Repetitive DNA sequences--in which the same short bit is slapped down over and over again--called telomeres protect genes from frittering away when the ends of chromosomes shrink as cells copy their DNA. Chromosomes that lose too much telomeric DNA can stick together and tear during cell division. The resulting genetic chaos leads to genomic instability, which triggers senescence, uncontrolled growth, or cell death (see "Dangerous Liaisons" ). Furthermore, these types of chromosomal rearrangements typify the premature aging condition Werner syndrome (see "Of Hyperaging and Methuselah Genes" and Fry Review ). Other recurring sequences seem to spur yeast aging. Previously, scientists found a DNA-unraveling protein, Rrm3p, that accelerates replication of ribosomal DNA (rDNA) and limits the production of rDNA circles, molecular loops known to reduce the number of times a yeast cell can reproduce (see Kaeberlein Perspective ). Because telomeres and rDNA are highly repetitive, Ivessa and colleagues investigated whether Rrm3p promotes telomere maintenance, just as it helps keep rDNA intact. To probe Rrm3p's role at chromosome ends, the researchers tested whether the protein influences the speed of DNA replication. They isolated forked DNA molecules that arise as cells duplicate chromosomes and separated them according to size. The bigger the forked DNA, the farther the copying enzymes have advanced along the chromosome. In cells without Rrm3p, the replication machinery moved through the telomeric DNA at about 1/10 the speed as when the protein was present, indicating that Rrm3p hurries the copying equipment along. Rrm3p probably protects the chromosome from the many consequences of stalled replication machinery, such as double-stranded breaks, says Virginia Zakian, a molecular biologist at Princeton University who led the team. Despite Rrm3p's significance for DNA replication, cells that lack it don't suffer chromosome loss or scrambling, hinting at the existence of a robust backup system. If Rrm3p's pushiness does guard telomeres, it could preserve the yeast genome in ways other than by preventing DNA breaks. Molecular biologist Bradley Johnson of the University of Pennsylvania Medical School in Philadelphia speculates that Rrm3p's ability to help keep chromosomes clear of stalled replication machinery could discourage DNA from hooking up in inappropriate ways. The protein's capacity to curb rDNA circle formation suggests that it combats yeast decrepitude; its potential role in maintaining genome stability raises the possibility that a similar protein might operate in human aging as well. If so, then picking up the pace of DNA copying might hustle creatures to longer life. --Mary Beckman A. S. Ivessa, J.-Q. Zhou, V. P. Schulz, E. K. Monson, V. A. Zakian, Saccharomyces Rrm3p, a 5′ to 3′ DNA helicase that promotes replication fork progression through telomeric and subtelomeric DNA. Genes Dev. 16 , 1383-1396 (2002). [Abstract] [Full Text]

“Challenge Us; I Think We’re Ready”: Establishing a Multicultural Course of Study

When changing standards forced the faculty of a predominantly white, white-collar secondary school in suburban Philadelphia to address multicultural education to include more minority writers, the teachers were up to the task. Here, Robinson outlines the multicultural literature program, which includes an author lecture series. She describes the progress thus far and the plans for the future, noting that taking a global perspective of literature provides students with a complete picture of the real world.

The Efficacy of Philadelphia's K-to-8 Schools Compared to Middle Grades Schools

This study is a group of natural experiments designed to compare and contrast the achievement of students in public K-to-8 schools with the achievement of students in sepa rate public grades schools in Philadelphia. The grades schools in this study include schools with fifth through eighth grades as well as those with sixth through eighth. They are commonly called middle schools, but their fidelity to the school philosophy has not been examined. This study explores the effects of the two types of schools on achievement at the end of the eighth grade (the culmination of the grades experience) and on ninth grade achievement, when sustained high school effects begin to be apparent. The individual experiments were conducted to meet the needs of the man

Human computers: the first pioneers of the information age

Before computers were machines, they were people. They were men and women, young and old, well educated and common. They were the workers who convinced scientists that large-scale calculation had value. Long before Presper Eckert and John Mauchly built the ENIAC at the Moore School of Electronics, Philadelphia, or Maurice Wilkes designed the EDSAC for Manchester University, human computers had created the discipline of computation. They developed numerical methodologies and proved them on practical problems. These human computers were not savants or calculating geniuses. Some knew little more than basic arithmetic. A few were near equals of the scientists they served and, in a different time or place, might have become practicing scientists had they not been barred from a scientific career by their class, education, gender or ethnicity.

Revamping therapeutic staff support practices.

Therapeutic Staff Support (TSS) provide proactive child management, time structuring, positive behavioral support, and crisis intervention to children with serious mental health diagnoses via a federal entitlement program, Early Periodic Screening Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT). For those of us who work daily in the behavioral health rehabilitation field, having this position filled by well trained and supervised staff is critically important. However, despite the real and potential benefits of the TSS in the context of wrap around most stakeholders in the state of PA, (where this type of service is more extensively developed than most other states), agree that the current system for TSS must change. Almost all are concerned and complaining. Parents and agencies have filed suit against the Commonwealth for failure to provide medically necessary services in a timely fashion, as in the precedent setting Kirk T. litigation. Parents and provider agencies are also concerned about the quality of services, particularly when they hear that involves trips to McDonald's or the arcade. Teachers complain that TSS in their classrooms are often nonproductive and sometimes a hindrance. Managed care companies and agencies complain that TSS services decay into glorified babysitting. Finally the state of PA is overwhelmed with the over utilization of the TSS service, usually the most costly aspect of EPSDT service provision. ********** The above problems can be grouped into the following areas: a) insufficient number of TSS to fill child needs as assessed by psychologists and psychiatrists evaluating children brought to the attention of the system (see Kirk T. et al. vs. Houston, 2001 circuit 3rd); b) poor learning history and insufficient training of the TSS (e.g., TSS no-shows, TSS who become embroiled in the same power struggles with children as parents and teachers, thus offering no increased professional benefit, and agency failure to staff--see Kellner vs. Philadelphia School District); and c) almost exponential growth of TSS costs since 1994. Each of the above concerns can be addressed with a radical job restructuring of the TSS position in which service prescriptions are based on objective measures, thereby increasing the focus on clear goals established through empirical assessment practices. This paper presents the nuts and bolts of how to place the TSS position in a new light in order to solve the problems commonly raised. Creating a Five Tier System Based on Need Ideally, a provider agency's program manager should begin, with the psychological evaluation (including the results of formalized behavioral assessment instruments) to create treatment goals in collaboration with the family. Once goal analysis is done, the treatment team leader (either the Behavior Specialist Consultant or Mobile Therapist) develops a treatment plan with an individualized task analysis of the skills and strategies need for each individual. This task analysis should result in an hour-by-hour breakdown of expected TSS activity. Then, in the following revised system, TSS skills are matched with the level of service needed by each child receiving services (see Table 1). The TSS position can be fruitfully divided into five separate levels of care, depending on the child's needs. The training level for the TSS can vary. Since there will be stratification of job levels, there will be an increased pool of potential TSS applicants to select from as well as pay/cost differentials that will help address the high cost of services to state. Additionally, improved access and quality of TSS are addressed. Table 1. Experience Requirements for a Five Tier TSS System TSS level 1: TSS Aide requires High-school diploma and three years of experience TSS level 2: TSS Associate requires Associates Degree and two years experience working with children or 60 college credits and two years experience working with children. …

A Lapse in Standards

Little empirical evidence supports or refutes the existence of a causal link between standards and enhanced student learning. In its absence, the authors articulate five theories of action, discuss a study that proposes one such concrete mechanism, and present two small case studies that suggest how standards can affect student learning in day- to-day practice. DAVID HORNBECK, until recently superintendent of schools in Philadelphia, is a true believer. He believes that high academic standards will lead 95% of Philadelphia's public school students to achieve a rating of proficient on the standardized Stanford Achievement Test (SAT 9) by the year 2008.1 Critics wonder how that's possible in a city where 80% of the students live in poverty.2 How does Hornbeck think this will work? What's his theory of action?3 He suggests that students need somebody to believe in them. Communicating high expectations for all students conveys to them that you believe that they can meet the standards. Says Hornbeck, If you don't have real faith that every child can succeed, [failure] becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.4 Is faith in students enough? What mechanisms actually link the act of raising standards with improved student achievement? Little empirical evidence supports or refutes the existence of a causal link between standards and enhanced student learning. In its absence, we articulate here five theories of action by which standards might improve student achievement. We also discuss a study that proposes one such concrete mechanism, and we present two small case studies that suggest how standards can affect student learning in day-to-day practice. Definitions We begin with brief definitions of the different types of standards that reformers have proposed to raise student achievement. The most commonly discussed standards are content standards, performance standards, and opportunity-to-learn standards.5 Content standards. Sometimes called curriculum frameworks, content standards define the specific subject matter that students are expected to master.6 For example, the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) has created a comprehensive set of K-12 mathematics content standards and has taken the next step of suggesting teaching methods that can support students' learning the prescribed content.7 The process of creating content standards can be complex. The Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) has analyzed the standards-setting process in five states and three national curriculum projects and has offered a set of nine suggestions to guide those who would set standards.8 Performance standards. The notion of performance standards covers one or more of three ideas: 1) how students will demonstrate mastery of the content defined by the content standards (e.g., by solving a set of math word problems and explaining the process of solution); 2) the degree of mastery expected in a student's performance (e.g., a certain percentage correct on an assessment with given content), and 3) the proportion of students in a school expected to perform at or above a specified level.9 Opportunity-to-learn standards. Such standards require that students have adequate resources (e.g., supplies, textbooks, good teachers) available before they are penalized for failing to attain the standards set for them. Vermont's supreme court, for example, ruled in 1997 that it was the state's responsibility to provide for all Vermont students substantially equal access to a high-quality basic education, and this means a more equitable funding mechanism. Included in Vermont's new education funding law is a set of statewide performance standards. Progress toward meeting those standards is to be assessed and reported to the public annually.10 Other kinds of standards mentioned less frequently include certification standards and world-class standards. …

Methods of Exposure Assessment: Lead-Contaminated Dust in Philadelphia Schools

This study was conducted to develop a method that would accurately assess children's exposure to lead in schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We examined three wipe sample protocols: one included accessible surfaces such as desktops and windowsills, the second included inaccessible surfaces such as the top of filing cabinets and light fixtures, and the third included hand wipes of the study participants. Surface wipes were collected at 10 locations from accessible and inaccessible classroom surfaces (n = 11 at each location) and from the palms of student subjects in the same locations (n = 168). We found a significant difference in lead dust concentrations determined by the three protocols (F = 4.619; 2,27 degrees of freedom; p = 0.019). Lead dust concentrations were significantly elevated at the inaccessible surfaces yet they were uniformly low on the accessible surfaces and the children's palms. These findings were consistent with observed changes in blood lead levels of study participants: after 6 months of exposure to the study locations, 156 of 168 children experienced no change in blood lead level, whereas 12 experienced only a minimal change of 1-2 microg/dL. The mere presence of lead in inaccessible dust in the school environment does not automatically constitute a health hazard because there may not be a completed exposure pathway.

Methods of exposure assessment: lead-contaminated dust in Philadelphia schools.

This study was conducted to develop a method that would accurately assess children's exposure to lead in schools in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. We examined three wipe sample protocols: one included accessible surfaces such as desktops and windowsills, the second included inaccessible surfaces such as the top of filing cabinets and light fixtures, and the third included hand wipes of the study participants. Surface wipes were collected at 10 locations from accessible and inaccessible classroom surfaces (n = 11 at each location) and from the palms of student subjects in the same locations (n = 168). We found a significant difference in lead dust concentrations determined by the three protocols (F = 4.619; 2,27 degrees of freedom; p = 0.019). Lead dust concentrations were significantly elevated at the inaccessible surfaces yet they were uniformly low on the accessible surfaces and the children's palms. These findings were consistent with observed changes in blood lead levels of study participants: after 6 months of exposure to the study locations, 156 of 168 children experienced no change in blood lead level, whereas 12 experienced only a minimal change of 1-2 microg/dL. The mere presence of lead in inaccessible dust in the school environment does not automatically constitute a health hazard because there may not be a completed exposure pathway.

Transforming High-Poverty Urban Middle Schools Into Strong Learning Institutions: Lessons From the First Five Years of the Talent Development Middle School

The Johns Hopkins Talent Development Middle School model aims to transform high-poverty, urban middle schools into strong learning institutions that reliably provide every student with a standards-based education and every teacher with the training, support, and materials she or he needs to deliver it. Two of the model's developers discuss 10 lessons learned from implementing, refining, and evaluating this model in 5 high-poverty middle schools in Philadelphia and discuss obstacles they have encountered and breakthroughs they made in developing the knowledge base, materials, and infrastructure needed. Taken together, the lessons suggest that "improvement now" in curriculum and instruction and in student achievement is a realistic goal even in high-poverty, urban middle schools. However, such improvement requires multiple layers of sustained technical assistance and implementation support and also requires local partners who can help the model to become integrated into the fabric of the school district.