Provides necessary background for understanding the following article (pp.334-348) "Creative Curriculum for an Inner City: A Case Study of Alex Taylor Community School." Introduces Dr. Steve Ramsankar, who appeared on a Canadian program called "School as a Loving Place." Ramsankar taught the author to reexamine the small…

Data from 2,866 fourth-seventh graders and 631 teachers were used to compare 15 St. Louis schools designated as community education centers (CEC) with 15 others. No significant differences in achievement, cognitive ability, or learning motivation were found. CECs' outreach and social services did not seem to affect achievement. (Technical data on…

The Lawrence (Kansas) Public School District has a federally funded, three-site 21st Century Community Learning Center (including two elementary schools and one junior high school.) that offers academic, cultural, social, and recreational activities during after-school hours. Staff receives training aligned with students' diverse needs and…

Community schools arose in Texas in opposition to a post-Civil War centralized school system. Emphasis on parental control, minimal regulation, and funding similar to vouchers echo today's issues about school choice. Their history provides lessons for current school reform efforts. (SK)

Since 1975 the Indian Self-Determination and Educational Assistance Act has enabled American Indian communities to enact self-determination through community-based schooling. In this study conducted by a Navajo researcher, the Ramah Navajo community defined self-determination and how it was operationalized within the community and school. The…

The impact of decentralization policies on the Polish school system and the emergence of educational alternatives to the state system are examined. The discussion focuses on community schools as a particular case of decentralized educational reform that has roots in the social activist and communitarian traditions of Solidarity, but has also found…

Urban and metropolitan areas face unique challenges in serving the multifaceted needs of their communities, but also have advantages that create some of the world's greatest universities. Three scholars opened the 2017 CUMU [Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities] Annual Conference with "Voices from the Field." Each spoke to…

For the past two decades, efforts to desegregate schools have largely failed (Orfield & Frankenberg, 2014). Communities across America continue to re-segregate across racial, ethnic, and class lines. Today, even many desegregated schools fail to provide an integrated schooling experience in the classrooms and in other programs and activities.…

This report on a spring retreat for participants in the New York State Community School Pilot Project emphasizes the need to develop and strengthen collaboration between schools and other organizations and individuals with widely diverse interests. Ninety-seven people attended, including representatives from each of the 14 school districts…

During the winter many schools have closed, or been considered for closing, in efforts to save energy. This study assesses and analyzes the impact on energy consumption of operating school facilities on an extended-day and evening basis compared with closing facilities for specified periods. The two variables examined are the extended-day program…

This manual is designed to help staff, administrators, and advisory councils evaluate the effectiveness of their community school programs. The development of questionnaires to be used in the Salem, Oregon community schools is described, and applications of the six-component evaluation model are briefly discussed. The bulk of this document…

Maintaining that there is considerable confusion over the term "community education," this paper begins by offering a number of definitions. It then seeks to unravel some of the complexities of community education as it exists in the United Kingdom; to explain the growth of interest; to examine the underlying principles and different…

Projects that aim at meeting the educational needs of a community and also at creating a framework within which the overall social needs of the community can be taken into account have been the subject of detailed case studies, each devoted to a given country. In addition, these individual studies have served as a basis for a further analysis…

The genesis of the Ocean Beach, California, Community School is described in this volume by three of the participants in its formation. A grassroots effort, the school was started amidst a certain degree of controversy and resistance from already established community organizations. The authors describe the processes they went through to gather…

Community education addresses itself to the involvement of community people in decision-making processes. By opening the local school to all members of the community, determining its needs, wants, and problems, setting priorities, and then finding the appropriate delivery systems to address these issues, the concept is becoming a significant…