The Edison Project will reconfigure time, deploy truly professional teachers, and utilize technologies in powerful new ways. Other Edison design highlights include its research basis; clear, defining values; high universal standards; five-domain curriculum; proven, individualized instructional methods; creative organization; true accountability;…

Political acumen has become survival skill for school leaders. By staying abreast of developing social issues and anticipating local action, school executives can orchestrate community effort, take lead, and develop plan featuring broad citizen involvement. Advice is provided for playing new game and becoming less isolationist. Sidebars show how…

For many low-income and minority students, there is little continuity between schooling and the rest of their lives. Restructuring schools for equity challenges schools to establish greater congruence between themselves and students' homes. The role of effective-schools research, increased parent and community involvement, and increased teacher…

Examines the history and present state of federal initiatives in electronic networking, particularly the National Information Infrastructure and National Research and Education Network; discusses electronic publishing; and considers implications for national policy. Topics addressed include commercialization; community networking; end-user…

Describes the two-year systematic process by which the Saskatoon Catholic Board of Education formulated a mission statement. This grassroots policy development, based on principles of naturalistic inquiry and consensus building, comprised four stages: consultations with 70 small discussion groups representing all stakeholders, interpretation of…

Asserts that, although active citizenship is heralded as the goal of social studies, few textbook studies have attempted to define or examine civic participation. Reports on a study of the treatment of citizenship in four widely used third-grade textbooks. Finds that, although the texts are largely supportive of mainstream political values, they…

Outsiders (i.e., regulators, adjudicators, and "messiahs") frequently arrive with insistent demands for school change. The demands of these interest groups should not be set ahead of those of legitimate stakeholders at the school level. Having some interest at risk and commitment are characteristics that distinguish stakeholders from…

Describes the physical, emotional, social, and intellectual characteristics of young adolescents and discusses the ways that middle education can meet their unique needs. Urges educators to consider the impact of peer pressure, manage classes and individuals fairly and consistently, and ensure that students do not feel left out. Discusses…

Describes the Centennial History Project, a local history project at the East Chicago Public Library that encourages its diverse populations to collect information about their social, economic, and political history to be added to the permanent archives. Materials in the collection are described, including letters, ethnic costumes, and oral…

Community involvement protects students from the adverse impact of school failure in several ways that are particularly important for African Americans. Issues of program design, informal community involvement, and community contributions to school outcomes merit further study. (SLD)

Corporate community involvement programs are described: (1) Days' Inn's efforts to employ homeless persons; (2) Rockwell International's recruitment of its retirees as secondary science and math teachers; (3) Wells Fargo Bank's provision of social service leave time for employees; and (4) IBM's Project A Plus, a business-education collaborative to…

Each year, thousands of young people drop out of school, begin a life of unemployment, poverty, low self-esteem, violence, and even imprisonment. This article explains the sad effects of early school exits and the critical need for school-community collaboration to prevent dropouts. School leaders must be culturally sensitive and create school…

Examines Boston's school desegregation from 1962 to 1972, focusing on African-American women who demanded quality education for their children. The article discusses the constituency that supported a 1972 suit by Boston's National Association for the Advancement of Colored People claiming that Boston public schools denied equal education to…

Considers village and district councillors' role in educational decision making, focusing on the "Pukhun maliks" and tribal chiefs in northwestern Pakistan's frontier's tribal areas. In this case study, the notion of community involvement in development planning is actually entrenching the people's powerlessness. (17 references) (MLH)

Describes a letter-writing campaign in which students in an English class wrote to their state representatives opposing a bill intended to restrict the viewing of certain films in the classroom. Demonstrates the students' attention to the effects of their writing on their audience, and on their own image as writers. (PRA)