An Oregon elementary teacher attributes her best teaching year ever to parents' and community members' voluntary participation. They got involved in four ways--communicating through voice mail, sharing expertise in the classroom, helping gather lesson materials, and participating in monthly learning celebrations. These activities supplemented…

According to a Pittsburgh study, all families, regardless of socioeconomic status, have similar preferences concerning the nature and conduct of school communications. Parents view a "professional," businesslike manner as undesirable, whereas a personal touch (or timely information presented informally) is most likely to win parents'…

The Murfreesboro, Tennessee, City Schools have doubled the amount of time schools are open without raising taxes. Instead of going home to empty houses, kids participate in an extended school program offering over 100 courses in recreation, academics, arts, and life skills. Parents and organizations foot the costs; no child is excluded for…

Growing up in a highly eroticized environment, children are preoccupied with sex in developmentally distorted ways and increasingly likely to act out their sexual impulses. Abstinence is the only totally effective way to avoid pregnancy, AIDS, and other sexually transmitted diseases. Chastity education promises great success through promotion of…

When the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program (MSPAP) was unveiled in 1991, schools faced a public supportive of change but unhappy with the tests' implications--measurement of school, not student performance. Teachers helped design a nationally normed test to complement MSPAP. The process involved listening, communication, and…

Teachers need different types of communities to sustain and inspire them. They seek like-minded "outsiders" committed to learning and discussing what they learn. When the author invited "San Francisco Chronicle" readers to help convince his students about reading's importance, he received 1,000 helpful replies. (MLH)

Every student deserves a school that is inviting, academically challenging, and safe. A Maryland elementary school's appealing exterior and cheerful, warm interior create a welcoming atmosphere for both parents and students. A successful looping experiment that keeps teachers with the same students from fourth through sixth grade helps kids…

Describes benefits of small classes based on 28 years of experience as elementary teacher. Includes establishing a successful classroom community, more time for students, fewer discipline problems, personalized assessment, and more opportunity to use best teaching practices. (PKP)

Modesto (California) City Schools discovered common-ground thinking during a crisis over a safe-schools policy. Instead of shunning controversy, schools should face issues, invite all stakeholders, get training, formulate and approve policy, and train staff and the community to understand common-ground (religious neutrality) thinking. (MLH)

On Monday, August 29, 2005, Hurricane Katrina and the floodwaters from the breeched levees destroyed all 14 schools in Louisiana's St. Bernard Parish. Although most residents had been evacuated before the hurricane hit, 1,500 men, women, and children rode out the storm in Chalmette High School. The district superintendent and the school leadership…

Argues that instructional supervisors must play an active role in translating community-generated goals and processes into effective educational programs. (JG)

Discusses some of the causes of public alienation from education and suggests ways that educational leaders can combat this alienation and help build public support for the schools. (JG)

Discusses the benefits for both schools and senior citizens of programs that actively involve senior citizen volunteers in the schools and briefly outlines some of the beneficial effects of the experimental Teaching-Learning Communities program in the Ann Arbor (Michigan) schools. Available from Association for Supervision and Curriculum…

For ten years, 1962-1972, the writer served as assistant superintendent in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, public schools. The views expressed here are drawn from this background of experience. (Author/CB)

Describes a number of experimental programs at all levels of the Louisville, Kentucky public school system. (AN)