Community colleges must become community-based if they are to meet the needs of new students. They must emphasize life-long learning and competencies, rather than grades and degrees. Sample community-based programs are described. (DC)

Community involvement, union participation, and school leadership are behind the Rochester, New York, school reform. Measures include school-based planning committees, a reorganized salary schedule offering professional wages to attract and hold the best candidates, and a career ladder for teachers. (MLF)

Traces the historic prominence and evolution of music in the school curriculum. Concludes that the primary rationale for the existence of formal instruction in music was to provide for individual knowledge and skill. Asserts the ideal is relevant today for those desiring an educational focus on individual and discipline-based instruction. (TRS)

New York State Governor Cuomo's comprehensive drug education program can help control drug demand by doing the following: 1) informing students and educators about drugs; 2) encouraging active involvement of students; 3) encouraging parental involvement; 4) supporting research; and 5) helping students develop self-worth. Recent legislation to…

An ambitious school and community drug education program won community support after the appearance of a controversial school newspaper article featuring an anonymous interview with a drug pusher drew national attention to the problem of drug abuse in the community and schools. (DCS)

Presents project possibilities for students (grades one to five) to experience different and unfamiliar aspects of local life related to the theme of health and welfare. Suggests sites to visit, agencies to contact, and topic areas of a social and educational nature. Concluding statements express the success of this week-long program. (ML)

Identifies school financial planning techniques suitable for rural schools districts. Proposes a nine-step process: developing a planning policy, adopting a financial planning resolution, setting up a planning committee, analyzing district financial data, informing the public, developing the plan, presenting it to the public, amending and adopting…

By focusing on the entire community as stakeholders in the public schools, the school board, the superintendent, and principals are forced to identify and cultivate the diverse groups in the community. Eight essential steps to developing an effective stakeholder management strategy are listed. (Author/DCS)

It is unwise to give even a philosophically competent school head the power to set curriculum policy. In a democratic society that power should be held by the community rather than by technocrats because of the possibility of authoritarian abuse by specialists not accountable to the larger community. (IS)

Presents a practical viewpoint of the economic necessities of funding education and a general model for restoring economic stability. This involves a fixed "Basic Education Budget" not subject to voter approval, an "Index for Fixed School Costs" based on socioeconomic status of the community, and increased community…

Community Network for Youth Development (CNYD) has served the San Francisco Bay Area for the past twelve years as a youth development intermediary organization offering support, training, and capacity building resources to youth-serving organizations and programs. This report discusses CNYD's capacity-building approach. CNYD has developed a…

High school students and those who try to educate them have a tall order to fill. High schools must help create the workforce of the future by turning out graduates who have the 21st century skills that colleges and employers demand, while overcoming the achievement gap that exists for poor and minority students and fighting social pressures such…

This guide was developed to encourage community organizations to employ public engagement strategies in the context of school finance litigation taking place in their states. While litigation may at times seem daunting and complex to non-lawyers, there is much that community-based organizations concerned with education reform can do to become…

Background: The Lao People's Democratic Republic (PDR) Education for All National Plan of Action (EFA NPA) for 2003-2015 seeks to accomplish three major tasks: equitable access, improved quality and relevance and strengthened education management. Purpose: To design a National Education For All Action Plan for basic education in Lao PDR which…

This report explores questions about roles for citizens and governments in a good society by examining six Canadian experiences with civic engagement. Each case study involves different sectors of society, key players, goals, processes, and outcomes; touches on long-standing policy issues in Canada; and details how players have come together or…