A collaborative effort among community, corporations, and schools in Fort Worth Independent School District (Texas) entailed redesigning classroom learning to make it relevant to the working world, and introducing experiential learning strategies and field experiences. Educational changes resulted from a corporate survey of skills required in area…

The Valley School, Flint (Michigan), an ethnically and economically diverse private school, involves parents and the community to a remarkable degree, in establishing policies and in hands-on practice in the classroom. The principal's leadership is a major factor in sustaining the involvement planned for since the school's founding. (SLD)

Although the Chelsea project, in which Boston University has taken control of the Chelsea School System (Massachusetts), has been hampered by political and financial problems, the university is pressing ahead with educational experiments to improve teaching, expand educational opportunities, reduce dropout rates, and increase community…

The mental health needs of children and youth with learning disabilities and their families were studied in a survey of 79 human services directors in the Toronto (Canada) area. The study illustrates the importance of involving relevant communities in planning for community needs assessment and program implementation. (SLD)

The Chicago (Illinois) public school system has been undergoing a major restructuring that has shifted responsibility for running the schools to local school councils. The nine articles of this issue bring together opinions and research of a diverse group of authors with multiple perspectives on the effort. (SLD)

The National Action Plan for Comprehensive School Health Education (CSHE) was created by a committee of health and education experts who identified six issues integral to successful institutionalization of CSHE: policy; awareness; professional preparation and practice; parent, family, and community involvement; educational outcomes and standards;…

School administrators must provide leadership in implementing inclusive education by taking ownership of inclusive programs; becoming informed; and promoting open communication between parents, teachers, and board members. Strategies for implementing inclusive programs must consider roles of general- and special-education teachers, administrators,…

Linguists working with endangered American Indian languages must realize that fieldwork is a cooperative venture, requiring that control be relinguished to the community. The relationship with the tribe must be negotiated, and linguists must return something concrete to the community in terms of language revival. Working in language teams that…

Reiterates the need for music educators to continually and consistently generate support for their program. Recommends maintaining active and valuable relationships with administrators and guidance counselors. Argues for the inclusion of nonperformance music courses in the curriculum. Includes a checklist of activities designed to create support.…

Argues that the centralized, bureaucratic model of education management has created more problems than solutions. Contrasts the current situation with an earlier model defined by local autonomy and personal commitment. Explores a broad set of issues and approaches designed to make arts education more autonomous and less divisive. (MJP)

Award-winning teachers from rural Oregon, Alaska, and Idaho discuss their innovative programs and the advantages of small-town life and small schools. Teachers, students, and community members know each other and participate in school activities, teachers have more flexibility and control over what they teach, bureaucracy is minimized, and…

Ethnographic study describes the professional development of seven unlicensed or nonqualified teachers involved in a community teacher education project in two informal settlement community schools near Johannesburg, South Africa. Data from observations and interviews highlight the teachers' initiative in pursuing their own professional…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the quality profession's fascination with various models to depict complex interactive systems. Building on these and the outcome of a four-year action research programme, it provides a model which has potential for use by other professions. It has been tailored here to suit training and learning systems.…

This book describes the process and results of a 5 year arts initiative, Artists in Minnesota Schools and Communities (AMSC). Based on the premise that rural communities hold an undervalued wealth of artistic and cultural resources rarely tapped by schools, the project piloted a variety of models for integrating art in the educational experiences…

This paper is of the opinion that multicultural education and citizenship education must resolve the tensions within as well as between them and work closer together, merge if possible, for the good of society. The paper contends this can be accomplished if both movements would commit to an overarching goal that clearly is to the benefit of all…