This report details unique characteristics of rural violence and outlines 88 strategies to prevent violent behavior, improve services for victims, and reduce recidivism. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, rape, assault, and robbery rates tripled in rural communities from 1965 to 1992. Rural violence differs from urban violence in several…

A study explored performance of the Arizona School-to-Work (STW) system in meeting the six goals established by the state STW Division. Goal 1 was to create a self-sustaining STW system at the state and regional levels. The state developed state policies and goals and provided implementation funding to partnerships, but no continuation funding.…

The BEST (Building Exemplary Systems for Training) Initiative was evaluated in meeting the following goals for youth workers: (1) increase and strengthen training opportunities at the local level; (2) help communities develop professional development systems; (3) build local capacity to make training accessible and supported by youth-serving…

Using the concept of triangles as a schematic conceptualization of service learning is a useful pedagogical tool in helping faculty, students, and community members to see the linkages among the component concepts in service learning approaches. Service learning, which is the linking of academic instruction with community service as guided by…

This volume contains a collection of chapters written by individuals in the fields of general and special education on multicultural education and students with exceptionalities. Chapters include: (1) "Multicultural Education: Powerful Tool for Educating Learners with Exceptionalities" (Festus E. Obiakor); (2) "Educating the African-American…

Recent research indicates that children exposed to certain risk factors in their families, at school, among their peers, and in their communities are at greater risk of becoming serious violent juvenile (SVJ) offenders. The Study Group on Serious and Violent Juvenile Offenders, a group of 22 researchers convened by the Office of Juvenile Justice…

The name of the United States School Garden Army was adopted in March, 1918. The work of the organization is an expansion of work undertaken by the Bureau of Education in 1914. The scale upon which it was done was limited by the finances that could be secured for it. The acute demand for food production growing out of the war conditions made…

Comprehensive school reform calls for a "whole-school" and coordinated approach to improve schools. The strategy differs from piecemeal and fragmented efforts that also in the past have seemed only to lead to short-lived changes. To stimulate whole-school reform across the country, Congress appropriated funds in FY1998 for the U.S.…

Discusses ten principles, evolving from the authors' experiences at South Boston High School, that form the core of a new view of schooling and its relation to the society it serves. (Author/WD)

Describes the "modus operandi" of Coastline Community College in Orange County (California), which serves as a model of a community-based institution. (Author/WD)

By means of a case study of the Saint Louis, Missouri school desegregation and reorganization program, administrative procedures for avoiding desegregation or creating an appearance of compliance are discussed. The strategies used include public relations, inbreeding of staff, coopting and/or dividing citizen action, and stalling for time. (MH)

Describes how Largo, Maryland, redefined and restructured its entire school system. The new plan emphasized community and collaboration, and used a cluster approach as the organizational scheme for change. Now, focus is on both parent and child rather than on the child alone. Outlines the major system structural changes and new administrator,…

Policy recommendations to create school and community partnerships were formulated by educators participating in the School-Community Connection project of the Institute for Responsive Education. Recommendations center on collaboration, partnership and leadership development, standard setting, assessment and accountability, and school-work…

Analyzes kibbutz adolescents' behavior at four biographical stages: voluntary community service, military service, leave of absence from the kibbutz, and higher education. Determines a distinct association between the socializing agents in the kibbutz and the development of democratic values. (MJP)

Spurred by federal and state mandates for improved performance, school districts across the country have become adept at establishing districtwide goals to raise student achievement. They have identified learning gaps among various student populations and now seek to close them. They have targeted improved performance in reading or math by grade…