Uses data from a large community-based research project to examine perceptions of southwestern Saskatchewan residents about schooling's contributions to community sustainability. Area residents highly valued the maintenance of extensive local educational services and were generally satisfied with available services. However, schools offer…

Examines literature on empowerment, and participation of parents and teachers in school decision making in the context of school governance. Discusses changing roles of parents and teachers under conditions of restructuring and examines how the changing organizational context in schools influences the nature and quality of relationships between…

Professionalism as a force for reform may succumb to growing pressures that place the locus for educational improvement in the community itself and that work toward economic empowerment of families within schools. The article compares two contrasting strategies for educational improvement in urban neighborhoods (service versus empowerment),…

Winning essays on rural school/community cooperation written by elementary, middle, and high school students recommend community volunteering to raise money, improve school appearance, and help with student supervision; building on the strengths of rural life; revitalizing rural communities through economic development; increased experiential…

Describes a neighborhood-based democratic decision-making process in which college students conducted research to support a group of citizens as they attempted to make informed decisions about the future directions of their community. Discussion looks at how to create forums that allow for genuine democratic decision making and the roles of…

Describes the North Coast Rural Challenge Network (NCRCN), a collaborative of four rural school districts in Northern California that works with businesses and communities to create project-based learning experiences for students. Discusses the use of technology including videoconferencing, Internet connections, Web sites, and e-mail, and gives…

An interview with Public Agenda's vice president examines what Public Agenda's research has determined about: attitudes of various groups toward school reform; students' yearning for discipline and standards; the public's perspective of the value of teachers; the public's desire for immediate improvement; the public's engagement in the change…

Children in intentional communities interact with a wide variety of adults independently, observe many parent/child relationships, and experience their parents in roles other than parent. Informal learning experiences about subjects not usually available to children abound. Integration into a community promotes childrens' academic and social…

Analysis of data from the 1996 Religious Identity and Influence Survey found that certain conservative Protestant groups, especially Pentecostals and charismatics, perceived public schools as hostile to moral and spiritual values. This alienation was associated with the lower and middle classes, large families, rural residence, residential…

A professor at Middlebury College (Vermont) discusses the benefits of teaching outdoors; the development of a bioregional curriculum that interweaves the indigenous, scientific, and literary lineages of a specific place; the use of journal writing to connect students to local geographies and communities; and the value of place-based education for…

The Free School is an independent, alternative elementary school in inner-city Albany (New York) based on open democratic education dedicated to the authentic lives of children. Emotional freedom is balanced by meetings in which everyone participates in solving discipline problems. The highly flexible and individualized curriculum uses the…

Discusses the "Art Staff" program implemented by two sister Illinois high schools that consists of a hand-picked group of students chosen for artistic performance, past and present, or by teacher recommendations. States that Art Staff gives students real-world experiences along with artistic training; their responsibilities include creating…

Young people's growing commitment to contribute voluntarily to larger issues through service is well documented. National service is not a single federal program, but a national purpose beginning with service learning in school and linked with community-based youth development organizations and higher education. Resources are listed. (Contaians 27…

A study compared efforts by two rural schools and two urban schools to implement state instructional reforms in South Carolina. Obstacles to rural schools' reform efforts included insufficient human resources to undertake comprehensive reforms and too much familiarity between school and community members, possibly resulting in limited involvement…

Creates a topology of preservice teachers' responses to community-based service learning within several courses, investigating meanings they made from their community experiences. Data came from interviews and student essays and papers. The article considers the potential value of community- based service learning as an aspect of multicultural…