Improving Children's Services

Childhood is changing. More chil­dren are unhealthy—physically and mentally. More children suffer from substance abuse and child abuse, from inadequate child care, and from family disorganization. More and more students from single­ parent families and from minority and non-English­ speaking backgrounds are entering the public schools that have never done a good job of meeting the needs of non-middle-class, nonwhite, non-English-speaking children. School leaders must understand how chil­dren's educational prospects are affected by their daily lives. Childhood is changing, and schools must change as well.

This article was originally published in the Phi Delta Kappan by Phi Delta Kappa International and Journal Storage (JSTOR).