This article discusses providing students with significant disabilities the opportunity to participate in meaningful, age-appropriate learning experiences in postsecondary settings during their final years of school. A sample schedule of a participating student is provided, along with steps for developing alternative options for students with…

Notes that summer school has been affected by current curricular reform and high stakes testing. Describes an innovative summer school program, created through transformational teacher leadership, that developed a new vision for integrated curriculum--one that revolved around rebuilding a boat. Presents implications for both an integrated academic…

A university-assisted participatory action project, the West Philadelphia Improvement Corps (WEPIC), has worked with several schools in Philadelphia to develop comprehensive community school projects. WEPIC is now a school-based neighborhood and school revitalization movement that attempts to serve, educate, involve, and activate all members of…

Reviews critical factors in successful language transmission and acquisition, factors responsible for language maintenance and renewal. Considers theoretical issues underlying communities' maintenance and renewal efforts and the reflection of those issues in practical goal-setting plans that outline desired plans that outline language maintenance…

Recounts the experiences of a social worker in a typical normalization project and then at L'Arche--a community of group homes for the mentally retarded, "assistants," and their families. Emphasizes friendship in an approach to rehabilitation services based on the premises of experiential education. (SV)

Reviews a systems theory approach to the development of community-based suicide prevention programs. Describes the Lifelines model of youth suicide prevention, and discusses the feasibility of implementing this model in rural and isolated areas. Contains 19 references and an outline of procedures for crisis intervention and aftercare. (SV)

Describes "program without walls" for developing community services in rural areas. Emphasizes importance of creative collaboration and redesign of traditional support programs to offer comprehensive community services tailored to needs of rural families and individuals. Suggests practical applications of "without walls" model. (Author/TES)

A survey of 41 residential schools for blind people found a variety of services offered to local day school programs including professional development services, special intervention programs, preschool services, summer school programs, and book, equipment, and supplies services. (DB)

Research demonstrates that children develop psychological "resilience" through the fostering of certain protective factors in their lives. Youth programs can promote development of these protective factors by helping children build attachments to adults and others and develop social competence and by providing meaningful participation in…

Discusses the goals of public libraries in the 1990s: (1) to provide recreational reading materials, and (2) to provide information. Presents a model that divides library services into community resource centers, which focus on community education based on community needs, and local information centers where information can be accessed…

A benefit-cost analysis was conducted to compare services for 11 individuals with severe mental retardation and challenging behaviors who had been moved from an institution to a community setting. Overall, the community-based program costs represented slight public savings over costs in the state institution. Less quantifiable benefits were also…

The Card Connection: Business for Children project gives East Harlem elementary school children an understanding of economics. This greeting card business teaches math and communication skills, interview techniques, basic economics concepts, and salesmanship. Requirements include a minimal initial investment for materials and supplies, an…

Parents (n=121) of children with emotional/behavioral disorders were surveyed to obtain their perceptions of contacts with service agencies and views on design and implementation of comprehensive services. Overall, parents viewed the services favorably. Concerns focused on obtaining information about community services, finding recreational…

Schools can utilize community resources and the family to nurture the student with exceptional talent. Programs such as the Student Leadership Development Program in Dade County, Florida, identify community resources, facilitate the engagement of these resources with students, and integrate these extended educational experiences into the total…

The transformation of a large, private, church-affiliated provider of residential services for individuals with mental retardation from an institutionally based to a community-based service system is described. Factors influencing the decision to close the 200-person residential facility, guidelines followed during the transition, and evidence of…