Service-learning is a powerful pedagogy in which community service is an integral part of classroom education. Including a service component in a chemistry course requires flexibility and creativity on the part of the instructor as well as the institution. This paper suggests some strategies that can make service-learning more feasible for…

In economically struggling communities, small private colleges are helping generate development projects in large part as a matter of survival. Unlike research universities and land-grant institutions, which have long viewed regional economic development as central to their missions, most liberal-arts colleges are relative newcomers to this work,…

"Institutional context" has come to play an important role in the explanation of differences in "effectiveness" between schools. But what is meant by such a concept differs from system to system. In this study we typify education systems based on indicators of institutional contexts such as: the financial base of public-private…

Many adults have a desire to give back to the communities that have supported and nurtured them, and they find their own ways to do so. Community based learning is but one mechanism for making connections that enable one to satisfy the aspiration to address the many problems of concern. It is a methodology that can be employed in the classroom,…

Service learning, a form of experiential learning, is not a new idea. Students learn through participation in thoughtfully organized service experiences that meet real community needs are are coordinated in collaboration with schools/faculty and community organizations. the service experiences are integrated into the students' academic curriculum,…

Students with disabilities face many barriers that cause them to be less successful than they could be. Virtual mentoring provides opportunities for employers in the community to act as mentors to the students, thereby enhancing community ties and creating positive public relations. This article explores the ways that a group electronic mentoring…

While many speak strongly about community engagement, few are able or willing to develop sustained and consequential programs and practices that further it. Many faculty are, in fact, dubious about an educational reform that appears too a-theoretical, too co-curricular, too much like yet another under-financed fad. In this article, the author…

This course, "Words on the Wadsworth," was the Humanities Honors course for the spring of 2009 at Hillyer College, the two year Associates degree program at the University of Hartford. Combining the content of a chronological survey of modern art with the new technology of podcasting and the venue of the Wadsworth Atheneum in Hartford…

Representative democracy relies on the informed trust of the citizens. School board members serve their communities at a crucial place, governing large sums of money and the future of the community's children. Without the informed trust of the citizens, this enterprise will fail. Trust may be lost directly, or through inattention to detail. One of…

This study was designed to investigate school principals' perceptions on school public relations in five areas: community demographics, parental involvement, internal and external communications, school council issues, and community resources. Findings indicated that principals' concerns were as follows: rapid population growth, change of…

In this article the author describes a project in which professors and preservice art educators from Northern Illinois University (NIU) collaborated with teens and members of the DeKalb Latino local community center to create a mural celebrating a traditional Aztec narrative. The mural project involved professors, university students, teenagers…

In the author's school district, teachers and parents found a way to change the question. "How can their community support the grassroots leadership development and organizing efforts of low income parents and guardians to close the "opportunity gap"?" Together they learned to roar. In 2007, the author and her colleague created Families with…

This article documents the contribution of local elementary teachers and examines the teachers' role as a conduit between an urban school and its community. Based on participant observation and interviews with local teachers and parents, the research considers the teachers' bridging position as professional practitioners and community constituents…

This article takes a highly critical look at athletics and responds to the question of whether contemporary community colleges should continue to maintain athletic programs, especially in times of financial constraint. For balance, the authors have chosen to focus on the negatives. They feel it is important to present a balanced picture in support…

Vision 2015 is an initiative to improve the area and quality of life for people living within the Northern Kentucky region. A key aspect to Northern Kentucky's future is in reaching by 2015 the Educational Excellence goal of having all children enter kindergarten with the skills necessary to succeed. This paper focuses on the first phase of the…