Though part of the larger public school system, charter schools typically do not operate in school buildings and are not always mandated to follow the same rules and regulations for school districts, which can make planning efforts for funding, facilities, and emergency management difficult to navigate. Charter schools typically receive per pupil…

This report is the result of the participation of hundreds of students, families, school educators, and researchers who dedicated their time and energy to investigating the critical role that families and communities play in ensuring students and schools can flourish. It is a culmination of over two years of collaborative research and hundreds of…

Because researchers know so much more about the brain and development than they did when the 20th-century U.S. education system was designed, this knowledge can now be used to design a system in which all individuals are able to take advantage of high-quality opportunities for transformative learning and development. This playbook suggests a set…

Education for adults ought to consider a both-and mindset when it comes to selecting approaches, values, and program models in today's multi-sector, multi-diverse, and cross-cultural environments of teaching and learning. Experiences from educational professionals can lead to recommendations for these instruction and mentoring approaches of adults…

A community-campus health partnership was formed in 1999. To determine health partnership priorities, it was collaboratively decided that an assessment of the community's health needs and interests was necessary. This article describes a community-based participatory research project: namely, a door-to-door survey to assess community health needs…

This guide presents a model for developing a team planning approach for optimum community involvement in San Diego City Schools in order to promote quality integrated education. Following a brief introduction basic purposes, goals, and tasks for implementation are listed. Next, the model is outlined as a step-by-step process. For each major topic…

The booklet, developed at Red School House for Indian communities, demonstrates visually in a cultural context the series of actions constitute a needs assessment. The illustrated text tells the story of a traditional community that is in need of food for the survival of its people. The question of how to cross the river to see if food is…

This guide is designed to show group leaders how to organize a program on single parents and their families and present this program in two meetings. At the first meeting, presenters provide information about single-parent families; at the second they suggest ways to involve the school, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and other community…

This toolkit helps community-based organizations create a community guide to the school budget, demystifying school finance for citizens and engaging them in the process of using the school budget as a tool for school improvement. It explains the major steps organizations have used in their own initiatives, offering advice and examples of tools.…

Helping school, district, and/or community leaders facilitate discussions with community members about improving schools, this guide discusses how to use informal focus groups to gather information about what is important to people in the school community. The guide helps users gather information in a systematic way, organize what they hear,…

This conference report argues that folk arts, which are transmitted informally by community word of mouth and example, represent the core culture of the community. Since a central goal for education is to prepare students to understand, live in, and contribute to their culture, the traditional folk arts represent valuable classroom resources. They…

Focused on the practical tools that education leaders can use to improve communications with their own colleagues, with parents, and with the general public, this guide can be used by school districts and states to organize their communication efforts strategically to build public support. The guide includes step-by-step information to develop a…

This sourcebook, which builds on a 1993 publication, "The Prevention of Youth Violence: A Framework for Community Action," offers insight into best practices to prevent violence by children and adolescents. It was developed with input from people working to prevent youth violence and people whose positions made them likely to play a role…

The Spanish-language version of this best practices sourcebook builds on a 1993 publication, "The Prevention of Youth Violence: A Framework for Community Action." It offers insight into tested strategies to prevent violence by children and adolescents. It was developed with input from people working to prevent youth violence and people…

This document profiles 11 examples of arts and education institutions across the country that are working to solve community problems. Programs, which reflect a number of purposes, are organized by category. Large Urban Profiles, include: (1) "Bridgemaking" in Chicago: Chicago Arts Partnership in Education; (2) Learning by Working: Young Artists…