In view of the national attention that has recently been brought to public school improvement, a list of suggestions is presented in the form of leading questions to guide communities in assessing the quality of their local schools and in promoting beneficial change. The evaluative questions touch on a wide range of issues: school financing…

This booklet offers a set of guidelines for developing a community-based coalition dedicated to improving the education of at-risk minority students. The guide offers and is organized around the following nine-step plan for the development and implementation of strategies to mobilize a community: (1) "the initiation: build core support"; (2)…

This handbook describes the roles that parents, tribal governments, law enforcement personnel, courts, schools, and health care and social service providers play in alcohol and substance abuse intervention and prevention in Indian communities. It explains the legal responsibilities each group has and actions community members should expect the…

Since its founding in 1983, The Jefferson Foundation has engaged increasing numbers of Americans in study and discussion of the U.S. Constitution. Through participation in Jefferson Meetings on the Constitution citizens will come to a fuller understanding of how the Constitution was made, why it designed the national government the way it did, and…

To debunk the myth that evaluation is a process better left to people with a PhD, this guide describes how organizations and coalitions can develop and utilize an evaluation strategy to make underage drinking prevention programs successful and effective. This booklet first describes the purpose of evaluation as well as the myths and facts about…

Families and communities can be valuable allies for professional educators and policymakers working to ensure high levels of student achievement. This publication emphasizes the use of technology to develop sustainable approaches and strategies that fit into a coordinated, comprehensive, and coherent family and community engagement program. It…

This article examines the characteristics and influences of boundary-spanning leadership in university-school-community partnership contexts. To gain a clear understanding of the diffuse literature in this area, over 60 related articles and books were reviewed; common themes were identified; and emergent connections were drawn. The most common…

This monograph was written to motivate and provide initial orientation for community leaders who are committed to seeing that comprehensive career guidance programs are established to serve the career planning and development needs of all citizens. The monograph is divided into two parts. Part A, containing four chapters, gives suggestions for how…

This report investigates a number of education and training programs involving employers in efforts to help disadvantaged young adults attain post-secondary credentials leading to career track employment. For the purposes of this report, the authors define credentials to mean credit and non-credit industry-recognized certifications, associate…

Child abuse is a national tragedy, taking the lives of three children every day and affecting millions of children and families every year. To mark the 20th anniversary of the first presidential proclamation of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Children's Bureau, Office on Child Abuse and Neglect,…

This guide is the second monograph in the "Guidelines for Effective Practice" series commissioned by the Best Practices Project of the Family Resource which meets the need for better definition and articulation of what constitutes best practice in family support programs. This guide describes the definition, key characteristics, and…

Computer equity is the equal opportunity for each individual to use a computer and learn the same subjects at the same level. Every community has some aspect of computer inequity, be it based on gender, income level, race, age, academic achievement, geography, or subject matter. The community activist who wants to promote equal access to computers…

This document consists of two guides that were developed to assist small rural communities in northern Alberta (Canada) in conducting surveys. A community survey can be used to develop long- and short-range plans, define and solve problems, establish priorities, confirm public opinion, develop community support and stimulate action, and reveal new…

Abuse of alcohol and other drugs causes a variety of problems in a community. Accordingly, this is a manual for use by groups of citizens working to build a broadly based community alcohol and drug abuse prevention program. It includes both a systematic framework which a coalition can apply to its community, and a detailed case study of one…

Small/rural community colleges should be integral parts of the communities they serve, catalysts for community development, and adaptable to community change. Collaboration with community agencies to develop efficient needs-specific programs and to use community residents as resources offer ways for colleges to provide educational courses and…