This handbook serves as a guide for state, district, and school leaders to organize and implement positive and permanent programs of school, family, and community partnerships. The book's eight chapters offer step-by-step strategies to improve school-family-community connections. Chapter 1 summarizes the theory and research on which the handbook…

School councils, a school-based decision making (SBDM) form of governance, are mandated for Kentucky public schools by the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Commonly composed of the principal, three teachers, and two parents, the school council is designed to be a form of democratic or shared school governance. The missions of school councils…

Public schools in the United States face enormous challenges as they try to provide cost-effective, good quality education. Schools can continually change to provide this service. The principles and processes of Total Quality Management can lead to Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI). Change can be initiated at any level and can be customized to…

The Rural Educational Environment (REE) is a complex mixture of demographic and economic forces that interact to impact the rural school corporation. The condition of REE financial and human capital indicates REE health and may influence student performance on standardized tests. This paper proposes an ecosystem model of the impact of financial,…

This book offers 20 contemporary biographies of young women across the United States who are making a difference in their schools and communities through community service. Examples of community action include feeding the hungry, recycling, saving the bluebirds, and promoting literacy. The girls and young women emerge as leaders in an area of…

This paper discusses some theories and models of school-community relationships, especially those implied by the coordinated or collaborative services movement, which represents the effort to coordinate activities of schools and other human services agencies serving children and families, especially those at risk. Questions of the relative roles…

Partnerships between the South African state and nonstate sectors have become a strategic element in the implementation of education policy. Six policy texts, as exemplars of state support for partnerships, are presented. The notion of partnership is used in a theoretical way so as to suggest reasons for governmental support in the context of…

Intended for community college administrators, governing boards, and other leaders interested in strengthening their institutions and communities, this monograph chronicles the experiences of five pilot colleges implementing the community-based programming (CBP) model of the Academy for Community College Leadership Advancement, Innovation, and…

The fact that much of learning occurs beyond school walls points to the need for a holistic approach to education. Such an approach involves planned cooperative links between family and the formal and informal learning environments that exist in the community. This monograph advocates such a holistic approach, discussing not only the value of…

Although formal vocational training in technical high schools or community-based job placements provides opportunities for adolescents with disabilities, educators need to consider a broader continuum of vocational training options for these students. Entrepreneurial options such as school-based businesses, internships, and apprenticeships may…

A study of the relationship between two distinct, yet intertwined populations (a university community and its surrounding community), their media use, and the ties they have to their respective communities moves research in this area forward both theoretically and methodologically. The study examined three university mass media: newspaper,…

Frequently, the expectations placed on education can lead to confusion over its mission. How one college president, at career end, views the purpose of education is presented in this address. The paper details how educators have tried to meet myriad demands in the face of eroding social support systems, claiming that educators must limit their…

This book addresses the relationship between research universities and the knowledge needs of post-industrial society, focusing on the increased importance of knowledge generation and organization for the economic and social well-being of society. It also discusses how research universities can build better linkages between the expanding knowledge…

This booklet describes Creating New Choices, a violence prevention project begun in Victoria, Australia, in 1994. It is designed to integrate violence prevention tools into the educational arena. The program is based on a critical examination of the whole school culture, with the goal of creating a socially just environment for all members of the…

First Nations communities have particular needs to maintain cultural values as a central aspect of community. Elders, as the bearers of traditions and experience, are both the appropriate source and the appropriate vehicle for the maintenance and transmission of those values. On Vancouver Island, Malaspina University College delivers Child and…