The instructional programs educators design to help English Learner (EL) students work toward English proficiency look different in schools across the United States. This is due in part to the variety of approaches K-12 educators take to important questions such as: Should the program foster bilingualism or focus solely on English? Should ELs…

Citizenship is an important part of the development of young people. By enabling them to learn about their rights and responsibilities, to understand how society works, and develop knowledge and understanding of social and political issues, citizenship prepares them for dealing with the challenges they face in life. Through citizenship, young…

This publication is designed to educate men and women about sexual assault. The goals are to encourage people to become involved in their own protection and to make them better informed and able to deal with sexual assaults when they do occur. Facts about sexual assault are presented, including descriptions of rapists, rape victims, and rape…

Designed for surrogate parents, social workers, and educational personnel, the handbook establishes a framework for the Maine Surrogate Parent Program, in which individuals are appointed to act as advocates for exceptional students in the special education decision making process. The following procedures are outlined: (1) identification of…

This fact sheet focuses on principles and practices of collaboration, especially between community crisis nursery and respite care services for families of children with special needs. First, the paper distinguishes among various ways to share resources, including networking, coordination, cooperation, and then collaboration, which is seen as…

This booklet explains the concept of a community exchange system (CES), or barter system, for the exchange of goods and services and describes how to set one up. The booklet is concerned only with nonprofit, voluntary organizations. The booklet is organized in four sections. The first section introduces the community exchange systems idea and…

In today's workplace, organizations are moving from top-down, hierarchical decision making to team decisions based on consensus. This guide offers advice on setting the stage for team consensus to grow and on establishing an environment that fosters consensus. Topics of the four sections, the components of full consensus, are: (1) "Purposeful…

This handbook is designed to assist schools in organizing and managing an effective school improvement council. It is divided into six sections. Section I describes the benefits of a school improvement council from the perspective of the school district, parents and citizens, teachers, the school administration, and students. Section II provides…

Although designed for participants in the National Issues Forum, this booklet, which describes the impact of the federal deficit and the federal budget process, is also useful for secondary school social studies. The six sections begin with an introduction describing why the deficit grows yearly and why it is difficult for Congress to stop its…

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 guide helps child welfare agencies and their partners craft more family-focused and neighborhood-based service systems. It suggests a framework that agencies can use to assess their current policies and practices and develop plans to integrate Family to Family values, principles, and strategies into existing initiatives and activities. Family…

Leadership for school change, this book contends, must be shared. Administrators, teachers, staff, parents, and community members must become more knowledgeable about the change process and more proficient at working through it. This book provides guidance and resources for school leadership teams and practitioners and students of change. The…

How public deliberation can be used to bring together schools and communities with linguistic and cultural diversity so that they can focus on educational reform is discussed. Public deliberation is described and its purposes reviewed. Three public engagement formats, forums and study circles, focus groups, and citizens' juries, are described. One…

Two booklets, in English and Spanish, are addressed to disabled adults and offer guidelines for building adult relationships within the family. Stressed are the importance of feeling good about oneself, learning to make decisions, and developing good communication skills so that family balance is maintained. Also included are lists of the types of…

Two booklets, in English and Spanish, are addressed to families of disabled adults and offer guidelines for establishing an adult relationship with the disabled individual within the family. Stressed are the importance of helping the disabled adult develop a positive self image, learning to truly listen to the adult as part of improving…