This volume provides a critical narrative inquiry into the learning experiences of adults and children at a Community School in Canada. It tells the story of a closely connected family of people living and learning together, combining activities such as learning to read and write with unconventional learning experiences such as trick riding, rodeo…

Drawing on rich case studies of Baltimore City and Boston, this volume identifies policy factors and processes critical to the successful district-wide adoption of community schools. By applying the Multiple Streams Model (Kingdon) to comparative analysis of policy determination and the narratives of local stakeholders across a 16-year period,…

"Teacher-Powered Practices: How teacher teams collaboratively lead and create student-centered schools" focuses on how innovative teachers are radically changing the ways schools are designed and run. The how here are the common practices, structures, and processes teacher-powered teams design and use daily. The guide identifies nine…

Standardized tests have been selected as a key assessment factor in expanding the academic achievement of the national student population. However, these tests position immigrant students at the risk of academic failure, leading education experts to search for new strategies and teaching models. The "Handbook of Research on Assessment…

This monograph is the second in a series, whose purpose is to provide practitioners and researchers a forum for securing the most current knowledge pertinent to family, school, and community partnership issues. This publication focuses on emerging practices that link communities and schools, especially creating the school as the hub for…

The impact of decentralization policies on the Polish school system and the emergence of educational alternatives to the state system are examined. The discussion focuses on community schools as a particular case of decentralized educational reform that has roots in the social activist and communitarian traditions of Solidarity, but has also found…

The first step in the effective reform of urban education is to address the failure of the urban communities of which they are a natural and necessary outgrowth. At the heart of the problem is the inner-city community of adults that has been decimated, leaving few who are capable of responding to the need or bringing meaning and guidance to young…

Characterizes many civic councils (a combination parent-teacher organization and school board) as bureaucratic and unproductive. Profiles a council governing a Moscow suburban school that has been innovative and effective. Discusses the financial and administrative initiatives developed in conjunction with the school principal. (MJP)

Criticizes the adoption of business-originated Total Quality Management principles into school administration. Contrasts this with the establishment of learning communities, an approach that emphasizes engendering commitments in individuals as opposed to manipulation or control. Further outlines this approach and describes several successful…

The report describes the educational programs that Alaska's 162 small rural high schools offer, identifies educational problems, and examines strategies that districts and schools have devised to strengthen these schools. The schools mostly serve Eskimos and American Indians, have fewer than 100 students, and are located in communities of fewer…

A study was done to determine whether any community school districts within the purview of New York City Board of Education had been able to integrate the Chancellor's call to action for multicultural education at the Social Action-Decision Making level, which had been designated as the highest level of multicultural curriculum approaches. The…

"Focus on Basics" is the quarterly publication of the National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy. It presents best practices, current research on adult learning and literacy, and how research is used by adult basic education teachers, counselors, program administrators, and policymakers. "Focus on Basics" is…

Discusses the utopian philosophy and related educational practices of the early 19th-century communitarian settlement in New Harmony, Indiana. The settlement failed after several years, due in no small part to the falling out between its two main supporters, Robert Owen and William Maclure. (MJP)