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During the 1985-1986 school year the Instructional Aide Program served 2,370 pupils in kindergarten and first grade in the Columbus Public Schools. The program provided educational support for underachieving pupils by training and placing 124 aides in the classrooms of 227 teachers. The aides provided direct instruction to pupils under the supervision of the teachers. Emphasis was placed on oral language, written language, and reading skills. These three targeted areas were the focus of inservice training sessions for the aides. Pretest and posttest scores were analyzed for pupils who attended at least 118 days (80%) of the program. The results showed that the objective of raising each child's score one point for every month of instruction was met in the kindergarten component where the average gain per month was 2.1 points. The first grade component did not meet the growth objective since the average gain per month was 0.2 points. However, teacher ratings showed that the skills of targeted pupils were substantially enhanced by the instructional aides. Thirteen tables present graphic displays of the data in this report. The survey instruments used in the study are included in the appendix. (VM)

1Boy Crusoe

By Allan Eric

Also published as" A Yankee Crusoe" . A 15 year old hard working and studious farm boy finds the lure of adventure on the seas as a merchant seaman more than he can resist. This is his story. " I was born in a little town in the State of Maine, near the close of the Civil War. My boyhood life did not differ materially from that of the average farmer's son in the remote country districts of New England--except, perhaps, that I read more and thought more. Hard work on the rugged soil, two terms each year in the little yellow country schoolhouse, a day's fishing now and then filled the early years of my life full to over-flowing. " What he gets is enough excitement and adventure to overflow his wildest dreams. How he experiences disaster and uses his wits and knowledge to overcome every problem makes for a great read. - Summary by Phil Chenevert