Public schools face many of the same marketing problems found in private-sector organizations. These include reputation building, resource mobilization, personnel employment, program development, client satisfaction, community good will, and public political support. This paper analyzes the marketing concept and illustrates its application to…

To determine the public perception of schools and school leaders, this study questioned people with knowledge of and opinions about their local schools, allowing open-ended responses to a question about confidence in their schools: "What are the sources of your confidence in this school (or school district)?" Although data are incomplete and…

In Arkansas 110 adults were asked questions over the telephone about the quality of Arkansas' educational system. The use of the data gathered through the phone survey will help enhance the effectiveness and efficiency of educational decisions made by policymakers in Arkansas. Opinions of parents and the community are generally positive.…

The Put-In-Bay, Ohio, Board of Education authorized a study to review plans for meeting the educational needs of the students and community. A total of 160 families currently living on the island were mailed a survey, but only 65 surveys were returned. A much higher rate of return had been expected because of apparent dissatisfaction with the…

Educators are faced with policy development issues that will allow children with AIDS to be educated, provide AIDS education in the schools, and educate groups whose lack of information may cause difficulties for educators trying to implement these policies. This paper provides guidelines for development of a HIV/AIDS policy. The premises of…

Spurred by sagging retail trade and the need for future planning, the Fort Madison (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce initiated a community survey to determine attitudes of residents towards various community characteristics. A 7-section questionnaire was distributed to a random sample of 411 area households, of which 268 or 72.2% responded. Over 75% of…

This study sought to determine characteristics of schools and districts that enjoy the public's strong confidence and to explore how these characteristics are created and retained. A screening procedure produced useable data from 181 "high-confidence" public schools, 30 private schools, and 45 school districts. As part of a preliminary…

This book analyzes how community-based organizations in low income urban neighborhoods can promote reform of their local public schools. Chapter 1, "Reassessing the Declining Urban Neighborhood," discusses the sources of urban decline in terms of a structural relationship between "haves" and "have-nots." Chapter 2,…