Australia's National Indigenous Literacy and Numeracy Strategy acknowledges that extra effort and resources will be required for Indigenous Australian children to achieve the recently enacted national educational goals. The principal objective of the strategy is to achieve English literacy and numeracy for Indigenous students at levels comparable…

From 1990 to 2000, a qualitative study of the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) was conducted in four small rural school districts in Kentucky. KERA reflects key components of what would later be termed "systemic reform": a unifying set of goals that all students must attain, a coherent system of instructional…

After 1989, because of political and social change in the Czech Republic, a new and effective system of school governance developed. Before this date, schools were closely tied to central controlling bodies; however, in recent years, there has been a tendency to set up a system in which schools can become an open and organic part of their local…

Setting high academic standards and achieving against them is an important educational objective. Academic standards should originate within the student's community; be used to measure student achievement and school performance; be shared and understood by all members of the community; and be both explicit and comprehensible to lay people. The…

As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study examines reform efforts underway in New Stuyahok, a community of 440 people in southwestern Alaska. The population is almost entirely Yup'ik Eskimo. The K-12 school enrolls about 150 students. In 1992, Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) established district…

A pilot program in New South Wales (Australia) aimed to engage Aboriginal students in the education process by making school more interesting and relevant to them specifically. The project used career education and Aboriginal perspectives to achieve these objectives. The development of aspirations within students was central, and it was hoped that…

This volume presents information from a social indicators project designed to shed light on factors affecting civic health in twenty-six communities where John S. and James L. Knight published newspapers and provided grants to improve quality of life. Seven chapters discuss research results: (1) "Listening and Learning" (e.g., growth of…

This report describes a study of the dynamic between selected reform support organizations (RSOs) and the school districts they have partnered with to promote educational reform. The report is directed toward the needs and interests of district leaders and was designed to help them understand district/RSO relationships so they can make informed…

This manual provides a guide for improving the coordination of education, health, and human services for at-risk children and families. The guide leads readers through a five-stage process of group collaboration. The milestones in and obstacles to the process are portrayed through vignettes and case studies that describe the personal experiences…

This book covers the steps involved in developing a library-based family literacy program, as well as questions of support and funding. Chapter 1 defines family literacy, provides historical perspective, and explains the need for such programs. Several well-established, successful family literacy programs are described in Chapter 2. Chapter 3…

This digest describes ways in which professionals who work with students from culturally and linguistically diverse backgrounds can create an educational climate that accepts and respects the language and culture of its students and empowers them to feel confident enough to risk getting involved in the learning process. Methods of creating such an…

A case study of an economically distressed rural Kentucky school district examined the theory that educational policy can enable community participation and that participation can enable policy implementation by affecting school governance and expanding the services provided. Primary data were gathered via interviews with four parent participants,…

This report summarizes some Austin Independent School District (AISD) parent and community involvement activities for the 2003-2004 school year.

Student health professionals, working as assistants to communities with serious health care problems, helped develop the Shuqualak health center in an area with the highest infant mortality rate in the United States. Describes the Community Technical Assistance Program and the history of the Shuqualak project. (SB)

Teachers, parents, and students on the White Mountain Apache reservation perceive school activities quite differently, indicating parental isolation and a lack of communication among the groups. Although students tend to agree with teachers more than with parents, teachers alone feel students are inadequately prepared for postsecondary school…