The PASSAGE (Positive and Safe Schools Advancing Greater Equity) initiative in Chicago brought together representatives from Chicago Public Schools (CPS), the parent organizing group COFI (Community Organizing and Family Issues), and the youth education organizing group VOYCE (Voices of Youth in Chicago Education), facilitated by the Annenberg…

Building relationships is the essence of the community college. Higher education administrators learned long ago that building rapport with businesses, state and local government, and constituents is the best way to represent the interests of the community. But that does not make it easy. Board members come and go and the shifting dynamics of…

In the spring of 2014, John Bragelman accepted an administrative position at a community college in Chicago. He struggled with the decision because it meant leaving the mathematics classroom, a space he calls home. As a critical educator, he had the opportunity to watch his students become critical participators in their communities, readers and…

Why do we do what we do? Why is what we do important? What are the best practices to ensure that our "why" is accomplished? These are questions of philosophy--a topic of immense importance since the "why" behind the work influences everything about the "how" and "what" of daily affairs in the world of…

This article presents a poem about Joe Cytrynbaum. The poem brings together all the many facets of Joe's personality into a crystal-clear image of the beautiful, smart, and magnanimous individual Joe's family, friends, students, and colleagues all knew him to be.

This author asserts that faculty should publicly and tenaciously support graduate student organizing campaigns. She states this not only from her perspective as a staff member of the largest higher education local in Illinois, University Professionals of Illinois Local 4100, which represents faculty and staff at seven of the state's public…

This article presents a case in which age was isolated as a highly significant factor affecting reported community satisfaction. Authors explain the findings as the result of four factors: (1) selective migration, (2) influence of length of residence, (3) acceptance of one's surroundings as one ages, and (4) rising expectations among the younger…

When the parents of school age children have significant relationships with their children's schoolmates, a particularly strong school-community relationship forms. Public schools in the United States are best organized to serve such functional, neighborhood communities, which are rapidly disappearing. School reorganization might renew community…

Presents a model developed from seven interrelated social factors to help diagnose various kinds of community conflicts. To verify the model and illustrate its utility, the standoff over the Berm Highway routing in Alton, Illinois, is analyzed. Findings suggest the importance of broadening the participants' definition of the situation through more…

Presents the Winnetka Alliance for Early Childhood as a model community effort to meet the challenge of childrearing. Reviews some of the initiatives, activities, and problems faced by the alliance. Describes the characteristics of this Illinois community and its long history of interest and excellence in education, and encourages other…

The fact that only 22 percent of adults in Illinois have children attending public schools challenges the idea of education as a "public good," yet despite many discouraging statistics concerning the public and the schools, there appears to be a growing awareness of the significance of education and an underlying foundation of faith in…

For a community college business communication teacher, a whole new world has opened in her field and in her city, a city which has changed from a major industrial economy to a service economy. The changing environments require adjustments for class size and location (to retrain laid-off mature workers), in types of examples and vocabulary…

Describes the country's conservatism, comparing the community college movement to other questioned social programs. Reviews the philosophical foundations of the Illinois community colleges. Suggests ways of demonstrating a community college education's worth. Describes the Illinois Community College Trustee Association's planning strategies for…

This six-part report is the result of a 1980-81 study by the Illinois Community College Trustees Association of the fundamental questions that underlie the common educational enterprise of the community college system. It seeks to provide community college trustees and state policy-makers with guidelines for governing and planning higher education…

Presents an economic analysis of public finance based on criteria of equity and efficiency. Discusses the operational problems and issues confronting community college practitioners and policymakers. Reviews public finance and cost-sharing in Florida, Illinois, Texas, and California. Recommendations include deemphasizing enrollment-driven…