Eighty-three consortia of institutions of higher education were surveyed for the purpose of measuring organization effectiveness. Generalized satisfaction was reported. Satisfaction with goal attainment was significantly related to the presence of at least one "internal" goal for the consortium. (Author/KW)

Recognizing that religion can positively transform people's lives and that churches and synagogues have altruistic members with diverse abilities, the Escambia County (Florida) School District created church care teams to work with special-needs families and their schools over an extended time. Positive changes in target families are already…

Describes a program at the Waterford Public Library (New York) that expanded existing outreach efforts to children in local preschools and a local childcare center, while adding services to a preschool play group. Discusses costs, the creation of story kits that included picture books and related activities, and evaluation results. (Contains 16…

The West Virginia Rural Health Education Partnerships program and West Virginia Extension Service played primary roles as community gatekeepers in helping researchers involve rural residents in focus groups to elicit cultural perspectives on diabetes and its management. The collaboration helped researchers gain entry to rural communities and…

Identifies factors that influence parental involvement and describes ways that school librarians can help parents gain the skills needed to support their children's technological learning. Describes levels of parental involvement and possible obstacles; working one-on-one, including parent volunteers; and community-wide outreach education about…

The William King Regional Arts Center (Abingdon, Virginia) shares Appalachian and world cultures with thousands of visitors each year, runs a comprehensive school program staffed by certified instructors and studio artists, and takes art to 93 rural elementary schools in surrounding counties. In 18 months of field work, the center documented the…

In creating Australia's first prime ministerial library, a new cultural institution was developed which blends professional practice from the fields of librarianship, education, archives, journalism and museums. The John Curtin Prime Ministerial Library honours the contribution of wartime prime minister John Curtin, works towards the advancement…

In this article, the author discusses how Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth (CTY) seeks and nurtures students with high academic talents in Baltimore. The mission of CTY, since its founding in 1979, has been to identify students with high academic abilities and to provide challenging and innovative programs that are appropriate…

Lawmakers have made the closing of racial and ethnic academic achievement gaps an acknowledged priority of the federal No Child Left Behind Act. So far the research has largely explored common factors explaining why Black and Latino students generally lag behind Whites and Asian Americans. Lorretta Chavez, a public school teacher and a doctoral…

Superintendents are in the right place at the right time to take advantage of a golden opportunity to reverse a trend that threatens the nation's schools and communities. They are now uniquely positioned to stop the retreat of good-hearted, well-intentioned citizens from public life. In this article, the authors present perpetual traps that…

There are occasions at a busy reference desk when contact time with patrons is limited. A solution to this is to create a mediated reference search service where librarians can have the luxury of conducting extended reference interviews. One-on-one searching services can be very beneficial for library patrons, including students, staff,…

Student documents, including scrapbooks, diaries, and student organization records, are invaluable resources for the study of higher education, reform movements, and intellectual and social trends. Not only do they provide fodder for scholarship and classroom instruction, these materials serve the multi-faceted research needs of administrators,…

Education has been identified as one of the primary agents of transformation towards development. However, low level of literacy and education is one of the major challenges facing most of the underdeveloped countries. Active community involvement and participation has emerged as an effective mechanism in improving the sustainable level of…

The teacher's guide, "Microscopic Explorations: A GEMS Festival Guide" (Brady and Willard, 1998), is the result of a partnership between Great Explorations in Math and Science (GEMS), a program of the Lawrence Hall of Science (LHS), the public science and curriculum development center of the University of California, Berkeley, and the Microscopy…

In 1998 a Burlington, Vermont partnership of a branch of city government and several educational and environmental organizations received a "metro-grant" to develop a project for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under its Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) Program. One goal was to…