Using survey data, this article outlines the steps administrators can take to create effective community involvement. A table details the task assignment and evaluation of community members in such roles as consultant or member of a task force or committee. (JM)

Describes an adult education program run by volunteers in northern Ohio. (MD)

Describes the development of the Springfield School Volunteers program, the make-up of the paraprofessionals, their duties, and the rewards of the program. (AN)

To handle unforeseen crises, Albuquerque Public Schools established a critical-incident response team with a simple, understandable chain of command. The group aims to ensure maximum safety and people' well-being, develop a districtwide crisis-response-management plan, coordinate necessary training, and collaborate with community agencies…

A Texas elementary school is meeting home-school parents halfway by fostering a once-weekly project involving adolescent, home-schooled tutors and fifth and sixth graders. The home-schooled kids get a break from their routine, and the public schoolers benefit from help with academic subjects and community service projects. (MLH)

A suburban Cook County (Illinois) school district has tapped an invaluable community resource--senior citizens--for two generations' mutual enrichment. Senior Exchange gives residents over 54 a chance to help schools while earning money to pay the portion of their property tax bill supporting schools. Other intergenerational exchanges include…

Describes "Learnball", a classroom management approach that uses sports format and peer approval to improve productivity, motivation, and behavior in the classroom. (MD)

Even schools with well-developed volunteer training programs overlook vast opportunities for curricular enrichment through use of parent volunteers' varied skills. These are three categories of parents' competencies: skills in hobbies and crafts, direct knowledge and experience concerning occupations, and knowledge about different cultures. (MLH)

A volunteer teacher working with juvenile delinquents in the Cook County (Illinois) Temporary Juvenile Detention Center's notorious Audy Home sees these kids as mirrors of his own teenage boys, deserving of compassionate assistance. Labeling other people's children as feral or superpredators is misguided. So are federal and state…

With structure and support, volunteers can be a great resource for after-school programs. Program managers should train volunteers with specific information, provide appropriate teaching strategies and materials, put important information in writing, match volunteers appropriately, facilitate icebreaker activities, respect volunteers' time, stress…

An active parent describes how over 400 parent volunteers in the Carpentersville (Illinois) school district were trained to participate in their children's education through shared decision making. Each school practices a governance model focusing on trust building, collaboration, shared vision, and continuous improvement. Forging authentic…

Founded in 1977, "Communities in Schools" champions the connection of needed community resources with schools to help 300,000 youngsters annually to learn, stay in school, and prepare for life. The program brings in community-service providers, such as health-care and mental-health professionals, to work as a personalized team alongside…

Older volunteers are helping urban students in developing the confidence and skills to succeed. Older adults, with their life experience and strong commitment to social service, can make a special contribution in underfunded and understaffed urban schools.

Discusses two different strategies for incorporating home-school-community partnerships into the agenda for educational reform. The "gradual strategy" includes seven steps and the "bolder strategy" six steps. Includes references. (MD)