To enlist the whole community in educating children, educators must expand their vision of family and community involvement, build new kinds of "doors" and "windows," and develop new mindsets about families, communities, and schools. Effective partnership practices are developmental, responsive, and student-centered. Some…

Study examined relationships between school board decision-making patterns and activities. Board members nationwide completed questionnaires on perceptions of decision making. Analysis of variables related to conflict and consensus discerned three board types. Variables included degree of community involvement, time spent seeking consensus, and…

Critiques a previous article on public policy options for American Indian communities that address alcohol abuse and related problems. Discusses the limitations of prohibition or controls as prevention measures. Suggests that community programs should promote healthy living by defining and communicating which behaviors are acceptable in all…

Explains antecedents, program variations, and rationale for developing single-sex schools for African-American males and females. Such schools share various values and features based on the importance of gender differences. Most programs offer appropriate same-sex role models, help with transition to adulthood, cultural inoculation, strengthened…

Makes recommendations to non-Aboriginal planners of Aboriginal adult education programs. Discusses community and student participation in planning, curriculum and instructional design incorporating Aboriginal culture and learning styles, student support services, teacher selection, cross-cultural training of non-Aboriginal teachers, and selection…

Describes the development of regulations to implement Prince Edward Island legislation guaranteeing the rights of the francophone community to French first-language instruction and participation in program development and administration. Discusses difficulties in devising an administrative scheme acceptable to both French and English communities.…

Offers guidelines for selecting community members for systemic restructuring efforts in public schools. Definitions of community and of systemic restructuring, or educational systems design, are presented; the importance of selection efforts is discussed; a community selection model is described and explained; and further research is suggested.…

Considers population education in anglophone African countries in terms of goals and strategies (e.g., location of the program's institutional framework; pilot phases; integration versus separate subject approaches; lifelong learning approaches; and community participation). Highlights problems encountered in program design and implementation and…

If a school and community are qualified enough to hire teachers, counselors, and secretaries through school-based-management processes, they are equally qualified to hire the school principal. This article describes a site-based team-selection process designed to identify optimal administrator characteristics, advertise the job opening, handle…

Reflecting new visions of learning, educators and architects are creating "three-dimensional textbooks" that use the learning environment as a teaching tool. In a planning process called architectural programing, the community and those who will occupy the building are consulted concerning developmental needs, aesthetic preferences, and…

The analogy of theatrical drama is used to explore the directions schools should take in the formation of educational communities. The roles of elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher learning are considered in light of the upcoming National Congress on Catholic Schools for the Twenty-First Century. (SLD)

Described are ways in which children with the help of their parents and community can get involved with recycling, energy conservation, composting, and picking up litter. Environmental student projects on water conservation, planting trees, and Earth Day pledges are included. (KR)

Describes a New Jersey high school's development and implementation of a question-driven model for interdisciplinary research designed to improve students' writing skills, research skills, and their understanding of, and interest in, the local community. (PRA)

Channeling the energy of volunteer boards of parents and community members can produce unexpected dividends. At Alma College (Michigan), a parent board raises $250,000 annually and helps recruit new students. A formal and communicative relationship between advisory board and governing board is essential for effective operation. (Author/MSE)

School board and community have only two ways to achieve accountability: by prescribing teaching methodology and establishing expensive supervisory superstructure to enforce it; or by establishing desired learning outcome standards and products and requiring professional staff to develop plans to achieve them and criteria to evaluate results.…