Some problems have been encountered in large school districts where decentralization has taken the form of community control. The idea of community schools, whereby the schools serve as key institutions in providing services and resources for all its residents, is discussed. (CJ)

The plan proposed in this report gives elected community boards of education the responsibility and authority to meet particular educational needs of their communities, including in the special area of low academic achievement. The proposal is in the form of a guideline and covers such areas as selection of community boards; parent participation;…

Many parents and community members throughout the nation, dissatisfied with the education their children are receiving, are demanding a voice in the educational process. This demand is expressed in the movements for community involvement in the schools, community schools, and community control of schools. Twelve documents investigate the concept,…

This document discusses the educational cycles of urban education from 1898 through the current thrust toward decentralization. Briefly, political exploitation for personal profit was followed by the theory that "professionals" should control the schools without "outside interference." The present revolution is a direct reaction to the failure of…

An on-line symposium on January 13, 1999, brought together policymakers, educators, parents, students, and local community reformers to discuss rural perspectives on academic standards. As part of an on-line dialogue extending from November 1998 to March 1999, the symposium linked on-line participants to panelists and participants in Burlington,…

Between the summer of 1968 and May 1969, 30 community controlled school projects were studied. Observations of community school curricula, community involvement and integration, and the like are summarized. Strategies for control are grouped under the same three structures utilized in the three chapters of project profiles: public school…

The publication describes a community learning center established in Newark, New Jersey, in 1969 with concern for children, parents, and people trapped by the limiting institutions of our cities, and which is composed of three program components: a day care center (for 60 three to five year olds), an after school and summer program (for 50-100…