The growing interest in creating relevant learning experiences for students has resulted in an increased emphasis on using the entire community as a teaching resource. Community resources can be defined as those locally available materials, persons, organizations or experiences that are useful and valuable for educational purposes. Community…

A successful 2-year reading program in Atlanta, Georgia, is evaluated from several points of view and in various ways. The program involved changes in the physical plant, teaching techniques, instructional objectives, inservice education, and community involvement of the three participating elementary schools. Emphasis was on the improvement of…

The employment of School Community Assistants funded under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was intended to support the ongoing teaching processes in the classroom through the provision of lay personnel residing in the community who served on a paraprofessional level. The specific objectives of the project were for the School…

This report deals with the special resources given to several school districts in Sweden for dealing with problems concerning the coordination of leisure activities and pupil welfare, with emphasis on the planning in Malmo. Three models are applied: (a) an educational planning model, where planning, process, and results stages are emphasized; (b)…

The Youth Opportunities Unlimited (Y.O.U.) program, operated by the St. Louis County Juvenile Court, Clayton, Missouri, provides career orientation and counseling, high school equivalency and remedial education, and placement and follow-up to deliquent school dropouts age sixteen and older. Community organizations help to promote client status…

Describes the background of the federally led, locally focused Work and Education Initiative, the name given to the combined efforts of the Departments of Labor, Commerce, and Health, Education, and Welfare to help young people make the transition from school to work. Activities of the community education-work councils are summarized. (MF)

School counselors are encouraged to initiate innovative programs designed to help students develop the necessary personal, technical and social skills needed to cope in a constantly changing society. (NWS)

This guide introduces teachers to the ideas and methods that underpin project-based learning. Teachers who are new to planning and managing projects will find the guide particularly helpful as a starting point and resource guide. Chapter 1 presents a rationale for project-based instruction, describes potential benefits and concerns, discusses the…

Studies show that afterschool programs improve academic achievement, reduce grade retention and increase student attendance and interest in school. Across the country, afterschool is a key element in strategies to turn around under-performing schools. The superintendent of Philadelphia and the governor of Virginia have used afterschool to turn…

With the nation's recent emphasis on student test scores, The Children's Aid Society fears that schools are missing the opportunity to be the institutions that help turn out successful young people. School climate and connectedness are the key ingredients for creating healthy schools that produce successful students. These factors are worthy of…

Afterschool programs are rich with educational opportunities. Programs can make what is learned during the traditional day vibrant and relevant to the lives of children. Comprehensive programs that are integrated into the regular school program and draw on resources within the community can yield positive outcomes for children. Key to this…

Service learning involves adolescent students in meaningful work within their community. This study examined the personal and educational motivations and expectations of 140 fifth through seventh graders from one middle school in New York City who were participating in a service learning program using the National Helper Network program model.…

This guide to implementing a school volunteer program was developed for the 1995 Wisconsin Volunteer-A-Thon project, which was intended to encourage individuals, schools, organizations, and corporations to volunteer time to youth and education. Part 1 contains a timeline for the implementation of the project, a description of how to participate,…

This report presents findings from Phase 1 of an evaluation of the New York City Beacons initiative, a model of school-community-family partnerships initiated in 1991. Beacons are community centers located in public schools, offering a range of activities and services to participants of all ages, before and after school, in the evenings, and on…

This paper is a response to the collective interests expressed by a network of the leadership of ten U.S. community college systems to better understand how community colleges can support emerging state cluster-based economic development strategies. The intent is to proved concrete applications of a cluster-based model that inform both workforce…