While most rural special education leaders agree on the universality of certain problems (funding inadequacies, personnel recruitment/retention, transportation, low-incidence handicapped populations, staff development needs, resistance to change) in rural areas, no agreement exists regarding generalizable solutions which will work in all rural…

This presentation describes a curriculum revitalization project begun in Spring, 1983 in Baxter Springs, Kansas. The cooperative "effective schools" effort used a broad base of support to establish a director of curriculum, create new school-university ties, focus a reading K-12 curriculum improvement effort, and hold instructional…

This handbook draws attention to the problem of dropouts in Massachusetts and offers solutions to increase the chances that all students will succeed. It suggests the need for systemic, school-based changes to foster learning environments that meet the emotional, social, physical, and cognitive needs of all students and staff. The handbook is…

The following papers were produced by participants and resource persons on specific issues of planning, management and implementation of literacy and post-literacy strategies: "People's Participation and Mobilization: Characteristics of the Literacy Campaigns in China" (Yanwei); "Strategies for Mobilization and Participation of…

The five chapters of this book on teachers' need and responsibility to prepare themselves for criticisms and attacks on their teaching methods and materials deal with the scope of censorship issues, the significance of academic freedom, recent judicial rulings, school-community tensions, and case studies of censorship cases. The first chapter,…

Summer Adventure, a university-based, full-day, community education program for kindergartners and elementary students is described. The program offers physical and enrichment activities, an "extravaganza," and production and leadership in training activities. The physical activities include golf, swimming, volleyball, and gymnastics. Fitness…

A review of the literature on school reform and successful restructuring efforts, with a focus on the decentralization of the Chicago public school system, is the purpose of this paper. Under new legislation, the Chicago Board of Education will be disbanded to encourage citizen control of schools, and will be replaced by a system of individual…

This paper summarizes principles of the Technology Access for Arkansans project initiated in 1989 to: (a) identify needs and quality of technology provisions in Arkansas; (b) disseminate information about appropriate technology and funding; (c) educate Arkansans about technology and advocacy; (d) develop a coordinated state plan for technology;…

Because most decisions that affect quality of schools are made in the community, citizens should become school partners in education. This booklet offers the following suggestions for citizen actions: (1) Get informed. As "owners" of the local school board, citizens have a right to know what students are expected to learn. Individuals should…

A non-government program trains local action-researchers from villages of Java, Indonesia, to work for grass-roots social change within their communities. Begun in 1977, the program trains local men and women to work with their neighbors to revitalize existing institutions and to gain control over the development programs and social services…

Four papers focus on approaches to providing literacy education. "Language and Community Building: An Intergenerational Approach" (Gail Weinstein-Shr) describes a Temple University (Pennsylvania) program to involve volunteers in English-as-a-second-language instruction to refugee children and their elders. This program provides volunteer…

Agency coordination and cooperation is necessary to establish quality educational programs in rural areas. An example of rural agency cooperation in Tennessee involves business and industry, church, vocational center, community college, United Way, and state and federal agencies in administering, equipping, staffing, and funding a child care and…

READI, a project administered by the Idaho Cooperative Extension Service, adapted to local conditions by community advisory groups, and taught by peer teachers, offers basic training in computer technology to adult residents of rural areas. The READI resource manual has five sections. The first section provides an overview of the project,…

This paper summarizes arguments surrounding the closing of Hisel School in Jackson County, Kentucky, in an effort to analyze the debate on rural education in Appalachia and how it relates to school-community relationships. Events surrounding closure of the school are summarized, including a two-year period in which a school community volunteer…

Aimed at developing a comprehensive delivery system of college-level learning opportunities for adults living in rural areas, the book examines rural communities and their needs, types of programs available, program development strategies, issues for postsecondary institutions, and state and national policy issues. Chapter 1 defines conditions…