This study traced the development of the Equity 2000 Program in the Fort Worth Independent School District from its inception in 1990 to its sixth and final year as an exemplary program for equal access to higher education for minority and underserved youth. Program components included mathematics, counseling, staff development, academic enrichment activities, parent education and higher education linkages. Both primary and secondary sources were evaluated from the perspectives of internal and external criticism. The following conclusions were reached: 1) District policy must change if minority students are going to access algebra and geometry. 2) The lack of involvement of other curriculum areas created primarily a mathematics inservice program. 3) Required inservice was necessary to provide improved and more effective campus and district results. 4) The precollege guidance and counseling component needed integration with the mathematics component. 5) Lack of principals' involvement in the early development of the program contributed to uneven administrative support. 6) There was no definitive strategy for parental inclusion. 7) Funding sources were inadequate to fully implement all parts of the program. 8) There was limited participation of local institutions of higher education. 9) There was a lack of an ongoing, structured evaluation process to document …

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the level of teachers' self-esteem on student achievement. This study surveys and analyzes factors of teachers' self-esteem. Its results are based on (1) a review of the literature to develop an understanding of historical perspectives and research, (2) the factors involved in the development of self-esteem, (3) the role of the parents, and (4) the role of the teacher. Forty-three teachers of grades three and five in North Central Texas completed the Gordon Personal Profile-Inventoiy to assess their levels of self-esteem. Six teachers with mid-range scores were eliminated from the study. The remaining 37 teachers were divided into high and low self-esteem categories. Students' Texas Learning Index scores on the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills were matched with the appropriate teachers' scores. The findings of the study indicate that the students with teachers in the high level of self-esteem category scored an average of 5.67 points higher than those students with teachers in the low level of self-esteem categoiy. Findings resulting from the study led to the conclusion that teachers with high levels of self-esteem have a positive influence on the achievement of their students.