This article examines how community art centers of the Federal Art Project (FAP) of the Works Progress Administration served as a third space, one that was explicitly designed to be different from art museums at that time. Created to employ artists during the Great Depression under President Franklin D. Roosevelt, goals of FAP programs included…

Implementing policy, system, and environmental (PSE) changes has several well-known challenges that have been documented in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education's (SNAP-Ed) comprehensive approach to obesity prevention and reduction. The purpose of the current study was to explore the use of community engagement (CE) as a strategy to…

Background: Schools may be an effective avenue for interventions that prevent childhood obesity. "I am Moving I am Learning/Choosy Kids"© (IMIL/CK) is a curriculum recommended by Head Start (HS) for education in nutrition, physical activity, and healthy lifestyle habits. Methods: We formed an academic-community partnership (ACP), the…

Background: In 2009, the Obama Administration announced its intention to rapidly "turn around" 5,000 of the nation's lowest-performing schools. To do so, it relied on the School Improvement Grant (SIG) program to provide temporary funding for states and schools, and to mandate drastic, school-level reforms. Most of these reforms require…

A study of AmeriCorps programs in four western states found the federally funded corporation is accomplishing its objective to operate in a nonpartisan, politically neutral manner. AmeriCorps participation significantly increased community involvement, with no differences by gender, race, or political orientation. (Contains 81 references.) (JOW)

Describes the Office of Minority Health Resource Center, designed to disseminate minority health-related information and increase public awareness of the gravity and magnitude of the health disparity that persists between minority and nonminority populations. Technical support, assistance, and information referral services are provided to…

Discusses the role of the federal government vis-a-vis youth programs and a change in policy from fostering youth passivity to fostering youth participation. (SS)

Several community projects of the Centers for Disease Control's Disabilities Prevention Program are described. The projects, which are coordinated at the state level, attempt to stimulate local involvement in disability prevention and to evaluate prevention needs and preventive interventions. (Author/JDD)

The startup of 465 federal 21st Century Community Learning Center Programs has propelled the idea of school/community collaboration onto national and local agendas. Collaborative action teams in the Southwest have identified three factors that encourage collaboration: the organizing group's commitment and diversity, administrative and campus…

This article describes two employment and training programs for older people funded by the government of the United States and carried out by a variety of agencies: the Senior Community Services Employment Program and the Job Training Partnership Act. The examples demonstrate the ability of older adults to learn new skills and perform new jobs.…

Describes two new vocational education programs: the Private Sector Initiative Program and the program (still in proposal stage) which was created by the Youth Act of 1980. Also explains how the National Alliance of Business has provided support for these programs and for the creation of the local Private Industry Councils. (CT)

In 1999, two schools in an impoverished border town in Texas received 3-year federal grants from the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program to support varied after-hours activities: academic tutoring, computer literacy, "ballet folklorico," arts and crafts, guitar instruction, and service learning. Students and parents now have a safe…

On Head Start's 30th anniversary, highlights its components of parent involvement and family support, commitment to meeting local needs, training and technical assistance support, and collaborative approach. Also discusses the Head Start Reauthorization Act and the special advisory committee's recommendations for the improvement of the Head Start…

Second careers are examined from an organizational viewpoint, and new directions for education-work policy, suggested by a unique second career program of the Federal Aviation Administration for air traffic controllers, are explored. Focus is on age, organizational and training factors, and community involvement. (Author/JMD)

The Career Opportunities Program (COP), an initiative of the U.S. Office of Education, ended on June 30, 1976. COP attempted to provide opportunity for indigenous community residents working as paraprofessional teacher aides in the nation's low-income and rural schools to advance with the education profession through training and merit and,…