A year-long ethnographic investigation examined how stakeholders in an Appalachian Kentucky high school addressed educational problems that they had targeted for reform while resisting state priorities and policies mandated in the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA). Contrasts KERA objectives with cultural themes prominent in this poor…

Outlines the efforts of the National Endowment for the Arts' Chamber Music Rural Residencies (CMRR) program. The program seeks to educate and develop audiences for classical music in urban and rural areas. Discusses many of the classical orchestras and ensembles that the CMRR supports throughout the country. (MJP)

The current higher education context for "Campus Financial Systems for the Future," a guide for college administrators that identifies structures and approaches for financial systems adaptable to different needs, is discussed. The guide was developed by the National Association of College and University Business Officers (NACUBO) and the…

Describes Project GLEAN (Gain Leverage and Empowerment through Adequate Nutrition), a partnership between a university, a food bank, and a K-8 elementary school to distribute food to the school's children, all of whom were eligible for free school meals. Reports that nearly 55 tons of food were distributed in 2001-2002 and that low-income children…

Australian rural communities often suffer from psychological isolation in addition to geographic isolation. Human and social capital are powerful antidotes to psychological isolation and are closely dependent on learning. Rural schools can reverse the negative effects of isolation on educational outcomes if they first work on building human and…

Explores the extent to which public policy commitments toward community participation are realized in Malawi. Finds that the main motivation for participation is extractive rather than genuine attempts to encourage local ownership and accountability. Argues that marketization of community participation signifies the entrenchment of individual…

Four critical first steps to establish trust among school boards, schools, and the public are: (1) building a community-wide consensus about the essential purposes of schools; (2) agreeing on how to provide choices for minority viewpoints; (3) selecting key education leaders; and (4) providing these leaders with the freedom they need to do the…

Federal, state, and local policy issues that affect models of school-linked integrated services and systems are examined. Barriers to school-linked service integration, state policy trends, the realities of finance, establishing state systems of support for the changing approach, examples of state approaches, and the impact of devolution are…

Presents six service learning lesson plans from the Constitutional Rights Foundation. Each lesson plan represents a step in a larger service project. The plans include "Defining and Assessing Your Community"; "Choosing and Researching a Problem"; "Examining Policy"; "Exploring Options"; and "Taking…

Examines factors contributing to youth violence and suggests ways that service learning can mitigate their influence. Community-based programs can fill the void of unstructured, unsupervised time tempting many youth. Peer education and cross-age teaching can help create positive attitudes towards cooperation and responsible behavior. (MJP)

Describes On Board Early, a Baltimore program designed to increase family-school experiences that support children's success. Discusses such program features as specialized family involvement staff, a parents-as-teachers program, a family-centered approach to supporting the transition to school, and planning for long-term family involvement.…

Discusses the work of the National Center on Education in the Inner City and the next-step efforts to significantly improve the capacity for education in urban America. Addresses four areas: fostering educational resilience, implementing practices responsive to student diversity and resilience development, forging school connections with family…

Educators are challenged to develop specialized programs to serve the varied cultural norms, beliefs, and values espoused by different Native American tribes. To counter bureaucratic pressures toward uniformity, individual schools must foster development of shared school-community culture. To assist at-risk students, schools and communities must…

Surveys of 11th- and 12th-grade students from rural schools in 21 states and their parents and teachers revealed significant coefficients of concordance among the three groups' expectations for adulthood. While aspirations for personal and economic success were highly prized, community-minded goals for civic responsibility were ascribed far less…

Describes the Barnstable (Massachusetts) School District's approach to educating its population of high-risk students. Provides student profiles, the program's design and curriculum, and results from a qualitative evaluation of its success. (GR)