Nearly one-third of 94 small cities surveyed report that escalating gang activity and youth violence is a “major problem,’' according to a new publication from the Pew Partnership For Civic Change.
The report, “Youth Violence: Gangs on Main Street, U.S.A.’' studies the increase in gang activity in cities with populations of 50,000 to 150,000, and describes the responses of four cities: Las Cruces, N.M.; Peoria, Ill.; Topeka, Kan.; and Yakima, Wash.
Copies of the eight-page report are available for $2 each from the Pew Partnership for Civic Change, 145-C Ednam Dr., Charlottesville, Va. 22903; (804) 971-2073; fax number: (804) 971-7042. Discounted bulk orders may be available on request.
The Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute has launched a publication about school-university partnerships titled “On Common Ground.’'
To be published three times a year, the periodical will focus primarily on professional development and curriculum.
The inaugural 20-page issue features a cover story by U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley, “The Emerging Role of Professional Development in Education Reform.’' It also includes articles by Therese Knect Dozier, a former National Teacher of the Year and a special adviser to Secretary Riley, and Fred M. Hechinger, a former education writer at The New York Times.
Free copies are available from the Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute, P.O. Box 203563 Yale Station, New Haven, Conn. 06520; (203) 432-1080.
Another publication that may be of interest to education partnerships is the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s new overview of the K-12 science-education initiatives it funds in the Washington, D.C., area.
Among the programs the institute supports are partnerships between the National Institutes of Health and high schools in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, and a collaborative between a Maryland district and the DNA Learning Center of the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor, N.Y.
Copies of the report, “Community Partnerships in Science Education,’' are available free from the institute’s Office of Grants and Special Programs, 4000 Jones Bridge Rd., Chevy Chase, Md. 20815-6789; or call Jamie Holtzclaw at (301) 215-8873.--MEG SOMMERFELD
