The Secretary of Education urges principals to read "America Goes Back to School: Get Involved," produced by the Partnership for Family Involvement in Education. This publication encourages parents, grandparents, community and religious leaders, employers, college students, and other caring citizens to work together to improve schools…

If current trends continue, a disproportionate number of America's children will grow up poor, undereducated, and untrained. Skills for Growing, a multifaceted K-5 program designed to develop character, citizenship, and positive social skills, offers a collaborative approach to socialization of children in isolation. (MLH)

Confronted with deteriorating facilities, outmoded technology, and low staff morale, a Mississippi principal improved communication with staff and parents. Staff sent home bimonthly student progress reports and monthly newsletters listing low-cost, unbudgeted items needed by teachers and encouraging teacher/parent dialog. They also asked for help…

The Skills for Growing pilot program was launched in 10 U.S. and Canadian schools during 1987-1988. This research-based project is founded on six philosophical assumptions: administrative leadership, positive expectations, visible rewards, a trusting climate, community involvement, and student participation. The program curriculum is described.…

The controversy over the decentralization of schools focuses essentially on the issue of community control. This article explores the current status of decentralization and evaluates its effectiveness as a vehicle for community influence and educational reform. (Author/WD)

Describes a Pennsylvania elementary school's efforts to enhance school-community partnerships and thereby garner support for innovative programs such as whole language, cooperative learning, process writing, and authentic assessment. The keys to success were improved home-school communication and parent involvement. Parents were encouraged to…

To ensure the success of its enrichment activities program, a Texas elementary school formed principal assistants committees (PACs) comprised of highly diverse community volunteer coordinators. In the PAC program, parents, nonparents, and educators work together, sharing problems and solutions while supporting each others' efforts. Sidebars list…

Describes an elementary school creative writing program involving lay-readers, which leads to increased creativity, more enthusiasm for writing, and better writing skills. (DCS)

Community schools come in all shapes and sizes, offering wide-ranging support and opportunities for children, families, and the greater community. Elementary principals from several rural and urban community schools explain how close-knit community partnerships created campuses that involved parents, energized teachers, and enhanced children's…

The principal and vice-principal of a California elementary school describe the eight critical elements that helped them develop a model expanded-day program at their school: identifying needs; sharing a vision; fostering staff ownership; investing in staff development; creating partnerships; linking learning to state standards; measuring and…

The author arrived at the Delta Principals Institute with low expectations and the same obstacles facing other principals from poverty-stricken areas: poor student achievement, staff apathy, lack of parental support, superannuated curricula, and poor community support. There he learned how to overcome these obstacles by using a more participative…

The Comer Process is a research-based school improvement model stressing collaboration, consensus, and communication for problem solving in academic, social, and staff development areas. The process allows school staff and parents to work together and to decide what is in the best interest of children. (MLF)

A model professional development school (PDS) serves Celebration, Florida, a planned community built by the Disney Corporation. The K-12 Celebration School resulted from cooperation among the Osceola County School District, Stetson University, and Disney. In this PDS, featuring multiage groupings and individualized instruction, students, staff,…