Voters in Marin County have long been willing to pass parcel taxes to fund their schools. In 2016, taxes faced unprecedented opposition from local activists; taxes in Kentfield and Mill Valley were defeated or passed by previously unheard-of narrow margins, respectively. What changed? This case study uses district financial and demographic data as…

The Public Policy Institute of California (PPIC) Statewide Survey provides policymakers, the media, and the public with objective, advocacy-free information on the perceptions, opinions, and public policy preferences of California residents. This is the 141st PPIC Statewide Survey in a series that was inaugurated in April 1998 and has generated a…

Communities across the country are grappling with different approaches to improving their schools. Introducing or expanding charter schools is one of the approaches that states and school districts have considered or implemented. Charter schools serve more than 5 percent of public school students nationwide and make up close to 7 percent of all…

This book presents hands-on information on how to plan, administer, and analyze opinion polls. Guidance is also offered on how to make this strategy accessible to public interest groups. Several examples, checklists, warnings of possible pitfalls, and lists of material and human resources occur throughout the chapters. Major sections address the…

This document discusses the treatment of Arabs in the western media. The main portion concentrates on the image of Arabs presented in American novels. Because television and films present visual images that communicate a powerful message in a matter of seconds, stereotyping appears as a shorthand form of communication and is, to a certain extent,…

This document addresses the negative image of Arabs among the U.S. public. While formal education has created many of the misconceptions about Arabs that abound in the west, many of the misconceptions come from the informal education of popular culture. The western image of the Arab is possibly more interesting than the reality of Arab culture.…

Discussion covers instructional design for the military during World War II and how this limited experience provided a basic assumption for the paradigm that describes how professionals in the performance and instruction technology field should approach problems. Conceptual soundness of the assumptions on which the profession is based is…

This article is an historical review of the genesis, the subsequent promulgation, and the eventual demise into the present pejorative status of the phenomenon called New Math. Examples of New Math concepts are included. (JJK)

Ten American artists were commissioned in 1975 to produce sculptures as rest stops along the Nebraska stretch of Interstate-80 in celebration of the American Bicentennial. The ten commissioned sculptures were selected through a national juried competition that drew 121 initial entries at a cost of $500,000. Despite initial controversy centering…

Summarizes results of a survey of training professionals conducted to determine their perceptions of teachers' competencies and ability to function as trainers in business. Respondents' suggestions to teachers on preparation for the training field are summarized, as well as their perceptions of the differences between training and teaching. (MBR)

How public deliberation can be used to bring together schools and communities with linguistic and cultural diversity so that they can focus on educational reform is discussed. Public deliberation is described and its purposes reviewed. Three public engagement formats, forums and study circles, focus groups, and citizens' juries, are described. One…

This guide is designed to provide interested citizens (including homeowners, youths, and community leaders) with guidance and ideas on how to plan and manage for urban and suburban wildlife. In addition, it suggests how to enhance recreational, aesthetic, educational, and economic benefits associated with good diversified habitats and sound fish…

In this collection of interviews, the outgrowth of a symposium held in San Francisco, California, in July, 1981, librarians, students, and users of library services for blind and physically handicapped individuals express their thoughts and feelings about their experiences and about the attitudes they have encountered. Handicapped library users…

Opinions of kindergarten through third-grade teachers concerning the use of free materials sponsored by businesses and companies were investigated. The investigation specifically attempted to determine and compare the following information: (1) respondents' teaching positions; (2) membership in professional organizations; (3) years of…

Working with schools and communities across the United States, the Education Commission of the States has learned that people want to express their opinions about schools in their communities. This guide was designed to help engage all sectors of the community in conversations about education. It is suggested that holding a series of meetings…