Improvement of a school's discipline program can begin with the opinion inventories published by the National Study of School Evaluation. Once teachers, students, and parents have assessed strengths and weaknesses, an appropriate plan can be chosen. This article outlines five approaches. (WD)

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)

Renewed emphasis on parent and community involvement is critical to success of Goals 2000. U.S. Department of Education is working with broad-based coalition of parent and education groups on new Family Involvement Initiative that will facilitate cooperation of parents and families with schools and communities. Schools succeed best by making…

Reviews the history of citizens' advisory councils and the attitudes toward them, the uses to which they are put, common problems they pose for principals, and their potential for contributing to the schools. Notes that principals usually view such councils negatively, and that principals' attitudes determine council effectiveness. (PGD)

To enlist the whole community in educating children, educators must expand their vision of family and community involvement, build new kinds of "doors" and "windows," and develop new mindsets about families, communities, and schools. Effective partnership practices are developmental, responsive, and student-centered. Some…

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…

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,…

A survey of 100 principals known for their successful programs for obtaining community support brought many effective techniques to light. These methods fall into four categories: written and oral communications, community involvement in decision making, use of school volunteers, and encouragement of parent-faculty organizations. (PGD)