This study determined the perceptions of selected architects, administrators, and teachers concerning essential design elements for new middle schools. Professionals from 14 south and southeastern states ranked statements from not applicable to essential in the following 5 categories: planning, design, site selections; environmental factors; space…

This issue of New Directions for Community Colleges focuses on ways of establishing and sustaining collaborative work between colleges and local school districts. Chapters included are: (1) "Building Bridges or Barriers? Public Policies That Facilitate or Impede Linkages between Community Colleges and Local School Districts" (Katherine Boswell);…

This comparison of standards-based reform with rural school improvement efforts that emphasize locally responsive, place-based curricula reveals differences and similarities in the two movements. The standards-based movement is focused on setting state and national standards that all students must meet, suggesting a common curricular focus. Most…

This packet contains resources on five topics relevant to rural school administrators. "Assessing Parent Involvement: A Checklist for Rural Schools": discusses educator beliefs that support successful parent engagement programs, challenges and advantages of rural schools attempting to involve parents and community, and aspects of…

This report details results of the 1998 Nebraska Rural Poll, which asked rural Nebraskans their opinions on taxes, school finance, and school consolidation. Survey responses were received from 4,196 residents of Nebraska's 87 non-metropolitan counties. When asked about the tax structure, most respondents favored changing the current distribution…

This paper describes the professional partnership between Rowan University, New Jersey, and Radix Elementary School, emphasizing the building of a moral culture in the learning community. The partnership is a driving force behind the movement to promote character education within the school community. This is being accomplished by facilitating…

This document is comprised of summaries of six papers presented at a symposium on the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, a federal grant to school districts intended to promote health and safety in schools and communities. The Initiative was designed to confront school violence, safety, and mental health needs through the provision of a…

This paper explores the impact of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996 on the work training being provided to welfare recipients by community colleges. This bill changed the approach for addressing poverty from a human capital perspective, which emphasizes the need for training and education to…

This report describes some campus-community partnerships established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). These partnerships between minority-serving institutions and their communities typically take place in small cities and in rural areas. In recent years, these areas have become home to large minority populations. The…

The conference, Communities Working for Better Schools, brought together more than 120 parents, community organizers, and educators from a dozen cities nationwide who shared their stories about efforts to get better schools for their children, and as a consequence, better neighborhoods for their families. This publication presents information from…

The New York State Rural Education Advisory Committee conducted an intergenerational project in which rural schools and agencies/facilities serving older persons were brought together to help young children build the reading skills necessary for academic success. Intergenerational programs such as this can help schools reach higher standards while…

An educational researcher describes and reflects on a qualitative research project she conducted, focusing on her positioning, neutrality, and objectivity throughout the research process and during subsequent data analysis. The research took place in a K-12 school in a remote rural New Zealand community inhabited by Maori, 1970s…

This guide helps schools think about how effectively they ensure that all families in the community are welcomed into school efforts. It features four sections highlighting areas that are important when considering all families in school improvement efforts. Each section contains examples from schools which are doing well, items to respond to, and…

This report analyzes four programs administered by the Corporation for National Service (CNS): AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC), AmeriCorps*State/National, AmeriCorps*VISTA, and AmeriCorps*Education Awards. AmeriCorps allows participants to earn education awards to help pay for their postsecondary education in exchange for…

This paper examines how community colleges are responding to external pressures to more closely collaborate with secondary schools in school reform efforts and school-to-work transition programs, focusing on four community colleges. These colleges engaged in a wide variety of collaborative activities with secondary schools. Two strong examples of…