This document consists of seven papers about educational improvement resulting from partnerships between public schools and universities. David Williams' paper discusses the Brigham Young University (Utah) Public School Project to answer the question: "Can a Comprehensive Public School-University Partnership Meaningfully Contribute to the Solution…

This papers explores the relationship between private and public schools. It challenges the assumption that competition between the private and public sectors is desirable and argues for a cooperative model in which public and private schools work together to educate children. Each sector has strengths that can help the other. These strengths…

Collaborations are usually developed on a school-to-school basis, and, at present, no vehicle is used for identifying or monitoring them. Little is known about what kinds of collaborations exist, and how many are true "collaborations" (as opposed to "cooperations and "coordinations"). Additionally, very little is known…

Partly in response to reformists' warnings concerning educators preparation, a formal partnership between Brigham Young University (BYU) (Utah) College of Education and five surrounding school districts was established. Acknowledging the innovative, experimental nature of this endeavor, founders began with a set of common interests, focused mainly…

Friendly House was created in 1920 to promote literacy among new families entering the United States. An analysis of the afterschool and the summer-school programs offered by Friendly House is offered here. The study includes information on these programs, as well as the policies, practices, and procedures used in providing for the needs of…

The concept of sight-based leadership, a process of universities and public schools working together to improve professional preparation programs and public schooling is explored in this paper. Sight-based leadership, which should be carefully distinguished from site-based management, is concerned with matters of vision with regard to educational…

The experience of Kansas communication educators in developing speaking and listening assessment has been characterized by unusual cooperation and collaboration among members of the educational community and the professional communication organizations at several different levels. In 1992, the Kansas State Legislature established the Quality…

This paper reports on the restructuring efforts and activities undertaken in Virginia Beach from 1991 to 1994. The district has begun a massive effort to downsize, reorganize, and restructure the organization to focus on shared decision making and student performance. A special effort has been made to build coalitions among employees, with the…

The Ohio Educational Reform Bill, S.B. 140, mandated that each school system adopt a school-choice policy for parents and students of adjoining districts. This paper describes the choice options that were developed by the Steubenville City Schools and Franciscan University. To meet the state requirements, the Steubenville school system first…

Recently, school-community relationships have gained popularity as a way to increase resources for schools. This paper presents results of a case study that examined the interorganizational relationship between a public school and a community-based program. Specifically, the study explored the elements involved in the implementation and…

This paper calls for the collaboration of general educators and special educators as cooperative teaching teams to better serve diverse student populations. Research in Anne Arundel County (Maryland) indicating significantly higher passage rates on statewide minimum competency tests, by students (n=343) in co-taught high school classes compared to…

A school-university partnership between Memphis State University and seven innercity schools, designed to enhance informed decision making by the schools through provision of university data, is described in this report. Data about the partnership process were collected from observations, document analyses, and interviews with all constituents.…

In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court determined that the state's public school system was unconstitutional and called for the General Assembly to "recreate and re-establish a new system of common schools." A new system of accountability in language arts departments required portfolio assessment that was both objective and strictly…

Trust, respect, and caring are crucial components in achieving or maintaining school effectiveness. This paper presents findings of a case study that examined the ways in which one urban school manifested particular characteristics of community--those of respect, caring, and trust. The one-year case study at an elementary school in Los Angeles…

This paper examines how selected program characteristics and attributes of key players affected two school-university collaborative efforts, and how funded grants created the need for collaborative linkages between schools and universities with little or no prior experience in joint efforts. Two programs (an alternative certification program and a…