This study evaluated an innovative family literacy program in Bullitt County, KY, USA. Data sources included attendance sign-in sheets, pre- and post TABE test scores, GED success, gender, age, and ethnicity, and grant applications. The evidence suggested that since 1998, the program increasingly attracted proportionally more males, GED completion…

This paper describes a qualitative study of seven alternative democratic program (ADP) students of a public high school in a suburb of a major city. The purpose of the study was to gain an in-depth understanding of how students in ADP reflect upon their transitions to become active members of the ADP community over time. The students were…

This profile describes various facets of Saint Lucia's National Association of Early Childhood Educators (NAECE), whose mission is "to stand up for the rights of children." The profile first presents the association's 5-year action plan, which includes goals for: (1) technical assistance, for example scholarships for the poor to attend…

This report is designed to help readers understand the experiences of communities dealing with issues of education and race. It chronicles the experiences of 8 communities that convened conversations about education and race involving about 1,000 participants in over 60 public forums nationwide. The report presents strategies and hands-on tools…

The Community Design movement advocates that mismanagement of the physical environment is a major factor contributing to social and economic ills of a community. This book provides the proven tools and techniques for bringing community members into the community design process successfully and productively. It offers 15 case studies chronicling…

This resource packet highlights over 30 contemporary Maryland women who reveal motivating stories from diverse backgrounds and occupations. The purpose of the packet is to recognize representative women of achievement and to ensure that teachers have the necessary tools to illustrate the extensive leadership and community involvement of Maryland…

This study examined the politics of school-community interaction around a high school construction project, describing the events surrounding one school board's decision to renovate versus rebuild its high school building. The study examined: public involvement in the decision to renovate; the political after-effects of this decision;…

RAND Criminal Justice conducted a randomized experimental evaluation of the South Oxnard Challenge Project (SOCP), a collaborative project between county, city and private non-profit agencies based on the "Corrections of Place" (COP) model. The project targets youth who live in South Oxnard or Port Hueneme, are between 12 and 18 years old, have a…

This report examines how the traditional roles and relationships between a school system as owner, and the architect, as designer, are substantially altered when educational facilities share their spaces for non-school use. It indicates that shared use often brings school systems into conflict with their new partners over design criteria, building…

This commentary focuses on the need to develop collaborative efforts between academic divisions and the community. While the role of the public school in the community has not changed, there is growing concern that the personal interactions between schools and the community have been lost, thereby dismissing students' need to understand their…

Considering 61 reading tutoring programs established in response to the "America Reads Challenge," this publication encourages all Americans to collaborate with classroom teachers and parents so that every child can read well and independently by the third grade. It discusses ways to build effective partnerships among the community, and…

How can a busy teacher help parents sort through the (often misleading) public conversation on education to understand what truly are sound practices in the classroom? This book, which contains interviews of practicing community organizers, lays out a step-by-step plan for teachers to adapt the tried-and-true strategies of organizers working in…

This bulletin focuses on four restorative conferencing models within the juvenile justice system: victim-offender mediation; community reparative boards; family group conferencing; and circle sentencing. The bulletin first describes each of the four restorative justice models, presenting information on background, concept, procedures and goals,…

The 1990 election of Dona Violeta Barrios de Chamorro as President of Nicaragua marked the end of the Sandinista era and the return of U.S. foreign assistance the following year. Education was prominent in the U.S. assistance package. Since early 1994, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Mission to Nicaragua has funded a…

Described the development of the Communiversity, a school designed to fulfill the post-secondary needs of the community through a systematic process of identifying a school curriculum by finding the needs of the community and placing them in some hierarchy of priorities. (Author/RK)