The climate and biodiversity crises are global challenges that require collective solutions that start with education. The Learning about Forests (LEAF) program advocates for outdoor learning and hands-on experiences, allowing students to connect with nature and develop a deeper understanding of the natural world. In order to empower schools,…

"Scaling Up School and Community Partnerships: The Community Schools Strategy" builds on both practice and research to describe the what, why, and how of system-wide expansion of community schools. The guide is written for a wide audience and for communities at different points in planning for, implementing, and sustaining a community…

Because researchers know so much more about the brain and development than they did when the 20th-century U.S. education system was designed, this knowledge can now be used to design a system in which all individuals are able to take advantage of high-quality opportunities for transformative learning and development. This playbook suggests a set…

The primary purpose of this guidebook is to support a learning community that promotes the growth, quality, and sustainability of Community Schools across Wisconsin. This document provides an overview of Community School models and supports, including: a list of the current districts implementing Community Schools in Wisconsin; information on how…

This guidebook aspires to build a community where learning for sustainable development takes place everywhere for everyone as an ongoing practice. It introduces you to "Reflect-Share-Act," a process to discover and define sustainable development in your own contexts together with others in your community. The guide compiles resources…

Recognizing the special relationship that exists between neighbors, communities across the nation are spearheading innovative programs to build, amplify, and leverage social networks in distressed communities to reach residents not yet enrolled in higher education. Grounded in existing relationships and established trust, the Chamber of Commerce…

"Improving Education Together" offers a step-by-step guide to Labor-Management-Community (LMC) collaboration, an intervention that has successfully improved student outcomes in a wide variety of school districts across the country. The authors illustrate how a culture of collaboration between labor, management, and community stakeholders…

In order to create a greater abundance of effective and affordable pathways for low-income learners, the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) created Minds That Move Us (MTMU). MTMU challenges the bright minds of communities around the country to design innovative education and training models that create social equity and economic mobility…

This "Handbook" offers a broad definition of family and community engagement, seen through the lens of scholars and practitioners with a wide-ranging set of perspectives on why and how families, communities, and schools collaborate with one another. Taken together, the chapters in this "Handbook" sketch out the components of a…

Teen pregnancy in the United States has declined significantly in the last two decades. Despite these declines, rates of teen birth, HIV, and STIs in the United States remain among the highest of any industrialized nation. Socio-economic, cultural and structural factors such as poverty, limited access to health care, racism and unemployment…

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…

This paper is designed to assist city staffs and transportation agencies in organizing effective community involvement programs. The role of nontechnical information in the decision making process is addressed first, to help professional engineers and planners consider its importance in planning and implementation. In a chapter on value…

This booklet suggests the first steps communities can take in assessing their needs and resources and mobilizing public interest and support for health promotion. It is based on an approach to health education and community organization that recognizes the value of a highly visible, time-limited event, such as a health fair, a marathon, or an…

This manual provides a step-by-step methodology for promoting community participation in improving learning in local schools. The Civic Engagement for Education Reform in Central America (CERCA) School Report Card (SRC) approach empowers local school communities to gather information on the quality and conditions of teaching and learning in their…

Control of urban development and preservations of open space have become increasingly controversial issues in recent years. This booklet was prepared to help citizens and local officials resolve these types of issues. It is intended to provide a framework for positive discussions between citizens and local officials, and includes an introduction…