Passage in 1989 of Oklahoma's education reform bill, H.B. 1017, provided encouragement and financial rewards for use of consolidation as a reform strategy, but this approach is often met with anxiety and hostility from stakeholders. In an effort to identify strategies that facilitate consolidation, semistructured interviews were conducted with the…

Developed as part of the America Reads Challenge, this booklet helps family and community members to identify "checkpoints"--what most children can do in reading and writing by developmental periods and what most children can read, by grade level. The checkpoints are grouped largely by three-year developmental periods because children of…

This report describes 18 American Indian and Alaska Native community programs administered by Indian Housing Authorities (IHAs). The programs were funded first by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Community Relations and Involvement programs aimed at improving quality of life for housing authority residents, but most IHAs have…

This paper provides an overview of national and state efforts to address school-performance scores as a means of monitoring local school productivity for the 21st century. School-accountability report cards were introduced in the early 1990s to provide parents and others with interesting and useful information about schools. However, many of these…

This book highlights the community building experience at Maricopa Community College District (MCCD) in Arizona. Sixty-five percent of upper division transfers at Arizona State University come from MCCD, and 80% of The University of Phoenix's graduates have done a major portion of their lower division work at MCCD. At any given time, 50 to 60…

The Spanish-language version of this best practices sourcebook builds on a 1993 publication, "The Prevention of Youth Violence: A Framework for Community Action." It offers insight into tested strategies to prevent violence by children and adolescents. It was developed with input from people working to prevent youth violence and people…

The case studies in this booklet highlight how five communities, in big cities and small towns, overcame the obstacles inherent in creating good new schools in existing neighborhoods. These studies illustrate the creativity that people across the United States have brought to the task of creating new schools in older neighborhoods. There is…

This publication, from a non-profit organization in Britain concerned with educational facilities design, aims to stimulate a debate about the building environment of secondary schools in relation to other dimensions--people, the learning process, and the institutional framework. Its chapters are: (1) "School Buildings in Britain Today";…

The possibility of converting a vacated school building into a useful resource presents a community with an interesting situation. During a 5-year period ending in 1997, over 100 rural Illinois communities encountered this situation. This report explores what happens to vacant school buildings and offers case studies of various re-uses, new…

The Families in Education Program, dedicated to nurturing a family-community-school partnership, provides this book for Wisconsin schools to use throughout the year to promote families and learning. The articles in this book contain ideas for developing and enhancing volunteer programs in the schools and for developing effective service learning…

Using the violent events that took place at Columbine High School in 1999 as an example, this book serves to inform teachers, administrators, school resource officers, and concerned parents about school violence. It can be used to help develop a response and prevention plan to handle threats and violence in schools. This book is a guidance manual…

Activities on behalf of Roma/Gypsies have always been an important part of the Council of Europe's minority protection policy. The topics discussed are how more training opportunities can be provided for young Roma people and other ways to support and promote their participation in society. This report on the long-term training course that the…

The Jacques Cousteau National Estuarine Research Reserve (JC NERR) program has successfully capitalized on human fascination with the ocean by using the marine environment to develop interest and capability in science. The Institute of Marine & Coastal Sciences, as the managing agency of the JC NERR, makes its faculty, staff resources, and…

Community education, a process-oriented, community-based concept, should help bridge the gap between the school and the community. The linkage should prove that the schools belong to the people and that community resources need to be harnessed to serve the educational, social, and recreational needs of the people. Community education makes full…

A discussion of the educational problems of big-city school systems which defines the community school concept or philosophy, and emphasizes the role of an energetic school-home partnership composed of the community, parents, leaders, and educators. (JM)