Author Description

This report presents results from a National Coalition of Advocates for Students' (NCAS) study (Looking for America) of intergroup relations between immigrant and U.S. born students in public schools and the organization's collaboration with selected schools to improve those relationships. The report reveals school practices designed to improve intergroup relations, presents evidence of strategic planning and deliberate interventions that foster improvements in intergroup relationships between students through on-site implementation in seven schools across the country, and documents the knowledge gleaned from the intervention sites. Profiles of 16 school programs are described, and the characteristics of what is required for these types of programs to work are listed. The profiles reveal the extent of the student diversity within these schools as well as the diversity of the actions taken to meld the groups into a harmonious whole. Their experience reveals that respect for one another can be taught and that steps can be taken to broaden students' understanding that the world is wider than political and cultural boundaries allow. Appendixes contain the research methodology and criteria for including a particular school in the research, a list of resources, and information on the NCAS. (Contains 19 references.) (CM)