In New Jersey, bright elementary and middle school students whose parents are financially limited have an opportunity to participate in a program called New Jersey SEEDS (Scholars, Educators, Excellence, Dedication, Success). SEEDS provides intellectually challenging academic enrichment classes on Saturdays and during the summer so that students…

The second edition of Functional Curriculum for Elementary, Middle, and Secondary Age Students with Special Needs has an expanded framework for a functional and longitudinal curriculum for children and adolescents with disabilities and other special needs. These is a stronger demand than ever to provide a curriculum with everyday usefulness and…

This booklet describes various components of the America Reads Challenge program, which will mobilize AmeriCorps members, skilled reading specialists, and trained volunteer reading tutors to ensure that every student can read independently and well by the end of third grade. The booklet begins with advice on how to get involved right now and…

This annotated bibliography lists publications (both books and articles) relevant to "rites of passage" youth empowerment programs. It provides resources for use by teachers, organizations, and others in preparing and administrating such programs. The bibliography's 104 items were published between 1961-1994, with the largest percentage…

The Master Watershed Stewards (MWS) Program is a pilot project (developed through the cooperation of the Ohio State University Extension Logan and Hardin County Offices and the Indian Lake Watershed Project) offering the opportunity for communities to get involved at the local level to protect their water quality. The program grew out of the…

This booklet presents suggestions for things people can do to help meet the America Reads Challenge of having all children read well and independently by the end of third grade. One of the ways to meet this challenge is through the research-based community reading initiative, called READ*WRITE*NOW!, which encourages students to read and write at…

This 1996-97 end-of-year report presents data from the Colorado Department of Education on their Comprehensive Health Education Programs, which was a response to the Colorado Comprehensive Health Education Act of 1990. During the 1996-97 school year, 54 projects were funded in school districts across the state to promote health education, reduce…

A growing number of urban school reform initiatives seeking to transform failing schools engage significant numbers of parents. Many such initiatives have succeeded in improving student academic achievement and transforming the culture of schools. This digest describes common characteristics of such projects. While the best among these projects is…

This paper focuses on how to develop a community-based educational intervention when community apathy is present, or where the isolation between school and community makes partnership more difficult. The key elements for this model are three steps: (1) determining the school-community relationship, establishing that a condition of isolation…

This paper presents the results of a heuristic and interpretive study of a public policy experiment in the criminal justice system, victim offender mediation conferencing. Conferences typically include the victim, the offender, their supporters and family members, and one or more conference facilitators. Participants report high levels of…

This document is comprised of six issues of the Child Care Bulletin, a bimonthly publication of the National Child Care Information Center. The January-February issue focuses on involving communities in child care planning. Topics discussed in this issue include: community mobilization strategies, assessing needs and establishing goals, and…

This digest considers issues, possible solutions, and successful efforts in dealing with Native language loss, maintenance, and restoration in American Indian and Alaska Native communities and schools. The preservation and maintenance of the remaining 210 tribal languages is a major cultural and education concern in Native communities. The problem…

This study investigated leadership development among immigrant Latino parents of children with disabilities. Nineteen members of grassroots organizations in the Chicago area participated in the study. Naturalistic inquiry was used as the research approach that included a combination of inductive and deductive analysis. The inductive analysis…

Joint rural school-community projects are best sustained when developed by a collaborative group. The two basic dimensions of working collaboratively are team building and team planning. Critical elements of the collaborative process are: 1) community readiness--an assessment of community readiness should be performed, taking into consideration…

This document describes a program designed for women and children living in homeless shelters to offer them creative, interactive experiences. The activities served to provide personal contact with the children and to read with them; help the families participate in creative expressions of self; and provide visits with the larger community. These…