Community is defined and several methods, ranging from formal research to informal observation, that can be used by a college or university to learn about the community are described. Identifying the influentials in the community is seen as essential. (Author/MLW)

Discusses selected activities of six community education-work councils sponsored by the American Association of Community and Junior Colleges (AACJC). Suggests ways of increasing planning effectiveness to colleges interested in initiating a council and cites AACJC reports on the program. (AYC)

Defines community-based programing as a cooperative process in which the community college serves as leader and catalyst in effecting collaboration among community members, leaders, and groups. Recommends 15 tasks for community college leaders involved in community-based programing, including environmental scanning and coalition building. (DMM)

A pilot study in three rural Colorado communities that focused on health service delivery problems related to cancer concentrated on perceptions of community influentials, health care providers, and patients and their families. Results indicate that qualitative methods can identify crucial problems for most people without losing sight of outlier…

The Brushy Fork Institute at Berea College, Kentucky, helps develop the leadership skills that rural Appalachian communities need to solve local problems and spur economic development. Community members from 42 rural counties in 4 states (plus 2 student groups at Berea College) have attended weekend workshops at Berea College and returned home to…

Mary Leue started the Free School, an independent, alternative elementary school in inner-city Albany (New York), based on open democratic education dedicated to the authentic lives of children. Other accomplishments include a community-investment organization, a magazine of alternative education, a magazine for empowering families, and a…

Provides a comprehensive list of resources about educational leadership in Native-based organizations or communities. Shows the limited material that is currently available and reveals how Native researchers, funders, and institutions must give more attention to the study of Native leadership. (Contains 69 references.) (AUTH)

As the federal No Child Left Behind law places increased pressure on schools to improve the academic performance of all children--notably those who have been historically underserved--many educators are realizing that they cannot do the work alone. Now more than ever, the public schools need parents and other community leaders to work with them,…

Traditionally, mothers provide banana to their neonates as well as discharge their colostrum prior to breastfeeding, increasing the risk of perinatal morbidity and mortality. Health education modules, based on ethnographic study, to discourage these detrimental practices were developed for use by community leaders. Two thousand six hundred and…

Background: This study involves 50 participants from a rural county in S.W. Georgia and examines the conditions and settings that existed at the target school as to the increase in student attrition at the alternative school. Purpose: To take a closer look at the student attrition problem in the target school and make contributions to begin to…

Background/Context: With the growth of the small-school movement, many urban districts have restructured large underperforming high schools into new, small high schools or schools-within-a-school designed to engage adolescents in rigorous and meaningful learning along with strong teacher-student relationships. In the case of this study, the…

The closing of local mines and factories collapsed the economic and social structure of Ivanhoe, Virginia, a small rural town once considered a dying community. This book is a case study that tells how the people of Ivanhoe organized to revitalize their town. It documents the community development process--a process that included hard work, a…

The Data-based Course Assessment Method (DCAM) assists curriculum managers in making appropriate program-related decisions. To set the context for DCAM in the Cleveland (Ohio) Public Schools, a study was made of Cleveland's employer/business community attitudes. Five characteristics of Cleveland in the context of the 21st century were examined:…

These hearing transcripts present testimony concerning the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education (ESE) Act, focusing on the English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education provisions and implications of the act. Much of the testimony was from representatives, educators, and community leaders who voiced opinions about…

Business and education representatives must identify mutual concerns to work together toward the delivery of education. Six regional trends were identified: (1) projections of a shrinking labor supply means untrained youth are a loss of needed human capital; (2) competitive edge increasingly relies on brain power, but students are poorer, more…