Community-based education programs must demonstrate effectiveness to various funding sources. The pilot study reported here (funded by CYFAR, NIFA, USDA award #2008-41520-04810) had the goal of determining if state level programs with varied curriculum could use a common evaluation tool to demonstrate efficacy. Results in parenting and youth…

This report analyzes case studies of "more and better learning time" efforts around the country. With support from the Ford Foundation, America's Promise Alliance looked in Grand Rapids, MI; Louisville, KY; Memphis, TN; and Rochester, NY to see how time spent out of the classroom improved outcomes for students in low-income neighborhoods…

Making Connections was the Annie E. Casey Foundation's signature place-based, community-change initiative of the 2000s. It sought to build on previous work and launch an effort focused firmly on the framework of family strengthening. The Foundation started Making Connections in 22 places, focusing eventually on first 10, then seven sites. It…

The educational achievement and attainment of young people in the United States has been a long-standing issue of concern. While analyses of long-term trend data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) show that students in the United States have made gains in reading and mathematics over the past few decades, a sizeable…

A study of the Kentucky Family Resource Centers explores the effect of family-school interactions on school-linked service programs. Findings suggest the need to connect discussions of integrated services to reform efforts in school-family-community networks. (SLD)

The purpose of the Student Taught Adult Basic Literacy Efforts (STABLE) project was the involvement of adult illiterates, functional illiterates, and educational dropouts who do not take advantage of other educational and vocational training opportunities in basic education, using mature college students as teachers. Thirty students were trained…

Complex community health promotion programs are being held accountable for their effectiveness, but rural public health departments lack staff and expertise to carry out evaluations. In Kentucky, a university evaluation expert trains local public health staff in technical skills for program evaluation and provides ongoing mentoring and technical…

WESTERN KENTUCKY UNIVERSITY INITIATED A PROJECT TO DETERMINE THE CULTURAL NEEDS AND INTERESTS OF THE AREA IT SERVES. IN PHASE ONE, CITY AND COUNTY REPRESENTATIVES ATTENDED A SYMPOSIUM ON ART, MUSIC, LIBRARY, LECTURE, AND THEATER RESOURCES AND FORMED A REGIONAL ADVISORY COUNCIL FOR COMMUNITY ENRICHMENT. PHASE TWO WAS A WORKSHOP TO HELP COUNCIL…

A Morehead State University project field tested the feasibility and utility of a comprehensive vocational training program, the Employability Skills Series of the Adkin Life Skills Program. The study involved nine adult program sites at these levels: adult education/GED (General Education Development training) students, post-GED CETA…