This article features Project 540, a national civic education program directly engaging high-schoolers in the democratic process. Project 540 is a dynamic and moving initiative that brings students full-circle to produce civic action plans based on what their school and community have to offer. The author emphasizes that civic participation based…

Beginning a community youth orchestra can be one of the most rewarding--and draining--experiences in music education. Forming a group requires administrative expertise, interpersonal skills, expert musicianship, and a lot of elbow grease. The author used all these attributes and skills when he founded the Spanish Fork (Utah) Chamber Players…

Background: The 2 institutions that hold great promise in mitigating the negative cyclical relationship between poor health and educational readiness are schools and school-based health care facilities (SBHCs). In partnership with schools, SBHCs could have a profound effect on learning outcomes, which include, but are not limited to, poor…

Five Comprehensive Employment and Training Act (CETA)/Local Education Agency (LEA) programs designed to provide youth with employment-related services were reviewed. Onsite visits were conducted to assess program development and implementation in Houston, Worcester (Massachusetts), Minnesota, Fairfax County (Virginia), and Los Angeles. (Each area…

A guide for college and university educators who manage service-learning programs, or programs that support student involvement in the community, is presented. A systematic approach to planning and managing service-learning programs is presented, management functions for supporting a service-learning system are identified, and ideas on…

Service learning is a teaching tool in which students apply classroom skills to solve real problems in their communities. Community service becomes service learning when it is connected to classroom learning and contains opportunities for students to reflect upon their experiences. In addition to enhancing learning through experience, service…

This collection of six articles describes essential features of systemic program evaluation. Articles are: (1) "Programs Need to Go Beyond 'Comprehensive'" (R. Jerry Adams and Kim Yap); (2) "Systematic Planning of Goals for Desired Outcomes" (Steve Nelson); (3) "A Framework for Conducting Systematic Evaluation" (Dean Arrasmith); (4) "Developing…

This document lists those guides most pertinent to service-learning in the collection at the National Service-Learning Cooperative Clearinghouse (NSLCC). Each citation provides bibliographic information, an indication of the type of guide, a program grade level, and the source or sources where the guide can be obtained. If an abstract was…

The Student Assistance Program (SAP) is a chemical use prevention and early intervention program. Entering the fifth year of implementation, the SAP has expanded from a part-time service contracted with Mental Health to a school-based program serving two high schools and three middle schools. The program is broad based, employing a variety of…

A project to map the outlines of school-community initiatives for educational improvement was undertaken to provide more information about these cooperative efforts. The mapping project aimed to identify the major types, purposes, and strategies of school-community initiatives and explore the dynamics of implementing, sustaining, and expanding…

This report urges that the mission of land grant universities be expanded beyond outreach and service to full engagement with their communities. The engaged institution is seen as being organized to respond to today's and tomorrow's students, bringing research and engagement that offer practical opportunities for students into the curriculum, and…

This study examines how 11 community colleges present and promote their service learning courses via the Internet. Of particular interest to this study are the following features of online presentations: (1) how detailed and developed the Web site is and the extent of the information provided; (2) whether the Web site provides student and faculty…

Issues in establishing and improving school-community partnerships are presented in this paper. Following a review of literature, the essential elements of strong parental involvement programs are described. Five major types of parental involvement programs are identified, and strategies and activities for improving them are offered. A conclusion…

School-based early childhood centers have the potential for responding effectively to a broad range of child and family needs and to society's demands for more effective schools. They have four defining features: (1) implementation of quality programs and developmentally appropriate practices for young children through age eight; (2) families as…

Experimental efforts to carry out a program of neighborhood one-to-one volunteer activity by urban low-income black elderly were unsuccessful. An alternate program of volunteering for group activities emerged. Environmental perils, limited professional supports, and volunteer characteristics were seen as accounting for the changed focus. (Author)