In the fall of 1989, President Bush and 50 state governors gathered to discuss why the American education system was failing. A major conclusion of the summit was that parents have a tremendous influence on their children's education. For change to occur in educational outcomes, parents must realize that the primary responsibility for their…

In Texas, public library advisory boards are a recent innovation that have developed as a result of the Council-Manager form of government. This handbook is a response to that development as a compilation of information on the most efficient roles and functions of advisory boards. An advisory board is appointed by the governing body of which the…

The Minnesota Department of Education has created a plan, "Unlearning Violence," to aid schools and communities in their efforts to create safe and nurturing environments for all the state's children. The goals and challenges of this plan were formulated with the involvement of over 600 citizens and an in-depth study of research related…

A practicum project proposed a series of solutions to the lack of sufficient funding for a centralized child care social service department. Political advocacy and lobbying efforts, accountability, needs assessments, coordination and collaboration, knowledge of funding sources, and the development of a comprehensive fund-raising campaign were all…

This report presents the Prichard Committee recommendations on professional development of Kentucky teachers. They are based on the results of a steering committee of Kentucky educators and are being implemented in a Pew Charitable Trusts project. The overall finding was that for school reform to succeed in Kentucky, greatly enhanced professional…

This document consists of two guides that were developed to assist small rural communities in northern Alberta (Canada) in conducting surveys. A community survey can be used to develop long- and short-range plans, define and solve problems, establish priorities, confirm public opinion, develop community support and stimulate action, and reveal new…

This issue of the Canadian quarterly "Transitions," in French and English language versions, examines the prevention of youth crime, with a specific focus on activities, trends, and research dealing with Canadian families. Major articles in this issue are: (1) "A Snowball's Chance? Communities and Families Working to Prevent Youth…

Service-learning is a teaching strategy used by Texas middle schools that combines classroom learning with community activities and where both students and teachers plan activities and projects that meet a well defined school or community need. These activities strengthen academic learning by addressing learning objectives, allowing students to…

Increasing needs of families have prompted Head Start organizations to build partnerships with businesses, schools, and health care agencies to better serve their clients. This report examines the efficacy of such partnerships and provides guidance for developing similar collaborations. The first chapter of the report explains why Head Start is so…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, which champions arts education as an integral component of a holistic curriculum and assessment process, encourages schools to make use of resources from the community, including arts and cultural organizations, artists, folklorists, and craftspeople. This broadened approach to education provides…

Designed to assist local school districts, this manual provides guidelines for the development of local plans for the education of academically or intellectually gifted students in North Carolina. In 1996, the General Assembly in North Carolina passed legislation removing gifted education from the law governing children with special needs and…

This report is the result of a 2-year study of three ethnic specific schools in Minneapolis and St. Paul (Minnesota). Key informants and public policy makers were interviewed during the first year of the study. In the second year, the parents and teachers at the three schools were both surveyed and interviewed. In all three schools, a sense of…

Community-based programming (CBP) is a cooperative process in which a community college serves as the leader and catalyst in effecting collaboration among the people, leaders and community organizations in its service area. This report discusses the changing role of the community college, the nature of CBP, and expected outcomes of the process,…

In 1990, the Sid W. Richardson Foundation Forum was established to function as a design team to consider the critical features of a professional development school (PDS) and the important principles which should be taken into account in creating and field testing the PDS concept. This report emerged from the design team's deliberations.…

In 1990, President Bush and the nation's governors adopted six National Education Goals for the year 2000, calling for improvements in school readiness, high school graduation rates, curriculum mastery, math and science achievement, adult literacy and skills, and drug abuse and violence levels. Congress faces two overarching issues--identifying…