In 2019, the authors had the opportunity to ask a few questions about climate and sustainability in the New Zealand Council for Educational Research (NZCER) national survey of primary and intermediate schools. NZCER began regular surveys of primary schools in 1989 and has run a national survey of English-medium schools every 3 years since then,…

In 1970, two of Lynchburg, Virginia's elementary school districts were combined to accomplish court-ordered pupil integration. The Elizabeth Kizer School housed grades K-2 and Dearington School, grades 3-5. Prior to the desegregation order, Kizer's enrollment had been 100 percent white and Dearington's enrollment 100 percent black. In 1989, as…

After years of watching administrators bully children, teachers, and parents into reform, a Fairbanks (Alaska) elementary principal decided to be a facilitator, not a dictator. Assuming a "servant leadership" role, this principal garnered community support for transforming an old, unwanted school into a new math-science learning center…

Accelerated learning involves a philosophy and systematic process for providing the best education for each child. Lessons are not really fast-track but designed to enrich students' learning experience through higher expectations, relevant course content, and stimulating instruction. Accelerated schools have three guiding principles: unity of…

The league of Cities for the Arts in Education encourages the integration of all the arts in all parts of school curricula for all children. An overview of the project and the individual programs of Hartford, Little Rock, Minneapolis, New York, Seattle, and Winston-Salem are described. (JMD)

Tremont Consolidated Grammar School (Maine) has changed little in the past 50 years. The wisdom of Paulo Freire and other educators shows that student empowerment, critical thinking, and parent involvement are necessary for true education, particularly for oppressed people. An ecological approach to education involves the family, the community,…

This book discusses possible approaches to initiating innovative educational programs and open education within the physical limitations of a traditional elementary school building. The authors stress their view that innovative education is more a product of innovative teachers and administrators than of building design. The book is aimed…

This theme issue describes Maryetta School, a rural pre-K-8 school in Stilwell, Oklahoma, with an enrollment of approximately 500 students, mostly American Indians of Cherokee descent. Although the area has a high poverty rate and virtually all the students are judged to be at risk, the school has an impressive array of programs and facilities and…

The benefits of girls' education include increased family incomes, later marriages, reduced fertility rates, reduced infant and maternal mortality rates, better nourished families, and greater opportunities for women. However, ingrained attitudes towards women are difficult to change. Only when communities believe that the benefits of girls in…

This document presents the action plan of the Child Care Action Campaign (CCAC) for improving the quantity and quality of child care services. The document also provides a policy statement on linking education and child care efforts. The action plan describes CCAC's vision of a streamlined system providing child care to infants and toddlers,…

In 6 short years, principal Lirah Sabir salvaged a low-achieving, predominantly black elementary school in downtown Memphis. Her vision is to make students integral members of society. Impressive gains in student health and achievement; community, parental, and staff involvement; and curriculum and instruction are explained. (MLH)

By 1973 there were very great disparities between the opportunities for education in the urban and rural areas of Afghanistan. This case study concerns provincial school construction programs for hundreds of small buildings in the remotest areas of what is one of the most mountainous countries of the world. A study proposed alternative building…

Between 1990 and 1998, Balochistan, a poor, rural, and underdeveloped province in Pakistan, undertook a major restructuring of its public education system aimed at increasing girls' access to schooling. Strategies included establishing more girls' schools, appointing local female teachers, providing special inservice training for female teachers,…

In response to disturbing trends in child poverty levels, leaders in business and philanthropy collaborated to address the problems faced by children and families, concluding that to improve the education of children, the larger family issues of poverty, health care, and social services must be addressed. As part of this effort, across the United…

This book contains 54 articles providing examples of how to involve the public, home, and community effectively in an educational partnership. It consists of four sections. In the first section various aspects of encouraging parent involvement are addressed, including using television to improve family relationships, bridging the gap between…