A parent and the music supervisor from the Ridgewood Public Schools in New Jersey describe how parents formed the Friends of Music association to provide moral and some financial support to the district's music education program. (Part of a theme issue on the crisis in music education.) (SJL)

The purpose of this handbook is to help communities initiate small grant programs for teachers using the one currently operating in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) as a model. Small grant programs, in which teachers compete for community-sponsored grants to carry out innovative projects with their students, are described as meeting two needs: new…

Briefly discusses no-plan approach and linear approach to school district computer involvement and suggests contingency planning approach is better. Components of this approach--conducting situation audit of internal and external environments, generating within-district support, formulating district-wide policies, and developing an ongoing…

While the condition of rural school facilities varies across the country, most rural school districts face similar issues as they consider new facility construction, renovations, or additions. These issues are how to gain public support for funding, how to make the best use of local resources, how to design buildings that meet a variety of…

A survey of administrators and teachers in 20 British Columbia school districts that had experienced substantial reductions in public funding examined efforts to raise additional funds from private sources. Activities included casinos (bingo), requests for donations, sales of goods to the community, grant writing, and entrepreneurial efforts.…

Cleveland voters soundly rejected a levy intended to bolster the school district's finances, a move widely interpreted as a referendum on the performance of its leader, Barbara Byrd-Bennett. Two-thirds of the voters who turned out for the Aug. 2 special election cast their ballots against Issue 3, which would have raised more than $45 million to…

This article reports on a year-long comparative case study of four secondary schools in low-incidence areas (less than 6% ESL) that have a reputation for success in the educational attainment of ESL students. Multiple data collection strategies revealed that, in low-incidence areas, school-wide programs and attitudes more than specific pedagogical…

A survey of 94 school boards across Canada provided information on recent developments in board handling of community relations programs. This report discussing the survey findings first notes that 85 percent of the surveyed boards expressed a need to find new, more effective strategies. The second part of the report explores methods used by…

Of the 255 Arkansas school districts responding to a questionnaire, 67 percent received resource support from the private sector. Contributed services were reported by 48 percent of the districts receiving support, monetary contributions by 46 percent, equipment and supplies by 40 percent, and buildings and land by 6 percent. Corporations provided…

Addressing the concerns and resources of small, rural school districts, this book sets out a rationale and model plan for school-community relations. After introductory material and a review of what's been done, the first major section lists and describes 10 criteria shown by research to be most important for a small school district community…

Specifically organized for the use of school districts that are located adjacent to each other but across state lines, this manual provides guidelines and procedures for determining the feasibility of sharing services across those state boundaries. The activities specified in the manual utilize school district information that is readily…

One of a series designed to help school arts support groups increase public commitment to their programs, this monograph addresses the concerns of local school boards in instituting or maintaining arts education. Content is divided into 10 sections that cover rationale for arts education, local problems of budgeting and cutbacks, obtaining backing…