The skills needed by the principal for developing and maintaining good school/community relations are synthesized from recent research and presented in this brief document. These universal concepts are applicable to both large and small schools. The topics included are the principal's responsibility to the community, necessary political skills,…

Coalition building and school restructuring unfortunately do not always occur together. But the two forces can complement each other and combine their resources and strengths. Coalitions are organizations or groups of individuals who share a commitment to a particular issue. Although coalitions involved in school restructuring may in the long run…

Parent involvement programs for rural communities work best when they respond to particular features of the communities they serve. Research provides conflicting findings about whether rural parents are more or less involved in their children's education than are urban or suburban parents. Even if parent involvement is more prevalent in rural…

Businesses, community agencies, career educators and counselors, churches, parents, and other community members are increasingly being approached to become actively involved in K-12 career education through school-to-work, tech prep, or other related programs. Community involvement in career education can assume many forms. Businesses can…

Community service is a voluntary contribution to the commonweal that teaches valuable lessons about the responsibilities of citizenship in a free society. Vital services are provided through thousands of organizations created to meet needs not otherwise provided for by government. Participation in these community service projects help create a…

Hispanic students have higher dropout rates and lower academic achievement than Anglo students. While schools have begun to address the issue of underachievement, some community groups have implemented enrichment programs that focus on the affective domain--self-esteem, family values, and cultural pride. This digest describes and synthesizes the…

From a synthesis of findings culled from a study that examined partnerships of families and communities with middle schools at multiple sites, researchers derived eight "lessons" that can help foster understanding of the nature of family-school partnerships in the middle grades. Researchers also elaborated implications of these lessons,…

This ERIC digest presents a summary of discussions from urban educators who addressed the issue of school violence at a National Education Association meeting held May 19, 1994. These educators note that American society is steeped in violence, particularly in urban areas, where children experience frustration, helplessness, and anger, and where…