This paper describes the development and implementation of a collaborative, interdisciplinary curriculum program, the Quest program. Implemented at a suburban New England high school, the program was loosely based on the tenets of the Coalition of Essential Schools. Ethnographical methodology included document analysis, participant observation,…

This document describes first-year outcomes of the Arizona Transition Project, which is part of the National Head Start-Public School Transition Project. The project seeks to maintain the early benefits of Head Start through the primary grades and beyond. Outcomes for 1992-93 relating to children, families, system, and policy for the years K-3…

This report provides information on the Educational Quality Indicators (EQI) initiative, a 3-year collaboration between Alberta Education and 12 school jurisdictions to develop indicator systems that measure the success of the educational enterprise. Ten collaborative action-research projects were begun in 1989 and ended in 1992. Each project…

This paper presents data from two in-depth studies to illustrate the importance of community involvement and staff development for improving schools. The first case study describes how community political action in a school district in southwestern Ohio spurred school reform. In "Riverside," a pseudonym, the black community sought to…

This report examines how Minnesota school districts use regional education organizations and how well the existing system of regional organizations serves school districts. Data were obtained from a survey of all 395 Minnesota school districts, of which 321, or a response rate of 81 percent, responded. The survey focused on issues surrounding…

This project identified models, practices, and existing projects, both in Indiana and throughout the United States, that demonstrated partnership efforts between families/home (particularly those families having students with disabilities) and educators/schools. This report presents a literature review on the nature, extent, effectiveness, and…

This document provides abstracts of projects participating in the Educational Partnerships Program, which is authorized by the Educational Partnerships Act of 1988. The purpose of the legislation is to encourage the creation of alliances between public schools or institutions of higher education and the private sector. The legislation also…

This document describes a practicum that developed and implemented a framework for increasing partnerships among business, industry, labor, and school districts. Implemented in a large, ethnically diverse district, the practicum sought to achieve the following objectives: (1) develop a comprehensive framework for forming partnerships; (2) increase…

This paper describes the need for systemic educational reform in view of the gap between students who are adequately prepared for tomorrow's jobs and the needs of business/industry. Rapid changes in the workplace--fueled by technological advances, altered family structures, expectations of varied and higher performance skills, and an increase of…

Some of the essential elements of educational partnerships and what it takes for these associations to succeed are presented. The brief opens by describing the growing trend of companies working in partnership with one another to improve education by sharing expertise, leveraging limited resources, broadening markets, and tackling complex issues.…

This volume offers a variety of examples of long-term collaborative efforts within schools that began with external funding. Articles include: (1) "Lessons from a Long-Term Collaboration," (Lindsay M. Wright and Rona Middleberg); (2) "Creating Structural Change: Best Practices," (Janet E. Lieberman); (3) "An Urban Intervention That Works: The…

Real progress toward large-scale comprehensive service delivery to children and their families is possible only when community agencies move beyond cooperation to genuinely collaborative ventures at both the service delivery and system level. The following factors that affect the success of collaborative efforts were developed from an analysis of…

Guidelines for implementing a plan to integrate an HIV positive child into the educational mainstream are offered in this paper. Although the issue involves a special health problem, the action plan is applicable to any controversial integration project. Components of the plan include working with parents and students, curriculum development,…

This report describes the collaboration of a teacher educator at Michigan State University and two experienced elementary school teachers who spent 3 years team teaching an integrated curriculum that they developed for their third grade students. Four themes are most indicative of the teachers' experiences with the difficulties and rewards of…

This paper focuses on the challenges in the improvement of research and development that arise from the commonality, rather than differences, in producer and consumer perceptions. The paper is based on the assumption that although producers do have varied incentives for engaging in and using research, their key motivation is a desire to improve…