Some researchers believe that collaboration between schools and community stakeholders--including families, educators, community organizations, and businesses--is the key to improving public education. However, broad and inclusive community-school partnerships are rare. Instead, we frequently hear about friction between communities and their…

Reviews the history of community education as a philosophy, beginning in 1899. Highlights milestone publications and events that have contributed to the growth of the movement. (SK)

Urges parents, educators, community leaders, religious groups, and other concerned citizens to champion character education. People must incorporate character building into their homes, neighborhoods, places of worship, state and national education agendas, educational performance tests, curricula, and the schools themselves. The U.S. Department…

Provides and explains a diagrammatic representation of the community concept and discusses how the concept can be used for interpretation programs that address the intertwined environmental and social problems facing society. (LZ)

Examines how the industrial arts curriculum can develop attitudes toward resource recovery in elementary, middle, and high school. Discusses resource recovery hardware, environmental legislation, and citizen responsibility. (CT)

Discusses organizational change strategies that school districts can adopt to help all students achieve at high levels. Provides a chart classifying organizational strategies. Draws implications for superintendents using these strategies. (PKP)

In this paper, the questions of whether or not the transmission of common civic values and commitments to society should be a major goal of U.S. schools is considered. The effects of classroom, school, and society on civic values and attitudes are addressed in terms of: (1) the curriculum and classroom instruction; (2) school structures and…

This editorial introduces the papers in this special issue and contends that aggressive, violent student behavior is not the responsibility of schools alone but of the community. It argues that a strong proactive response to aggressive behavior's origins in childhood and effective interventions in schools will have substantial impact on violent…

Examined the conflict between school systems and their communities in a survey of 350 teachers. Results showed the issue that evoked the greatest dissension was the question of responsibility for the children of the new American underclass, suggesting that the public has no clear perception about who is responsible. (JAC)

This report presents information from a national survey commissioned by the Public Education Network and Education Week of registered American voters and from focus group interviews, assessing the extent to which the public is supporting or failing public schools. Americans report having only 3 hours or less per week to help improve public…

Drowning prevention is a focus of safety professionals nationwide. Many local coalitions provide ongoing activities and can give advice on how to get started. The article describes different community drowning prevention programs, looks at various resources, and explains how to begin and maintain local drowning prevention programs. (SM)

Because of board members' key role in determining the future quality of local school districts, it is important for communities to elect and evaluate the persons elected to school boards. Board members' primary role is to support district policy and the administration, especially the superintendent, in all decisions conforming to professional…

This article analyzes the role of the Committee of 100, a vehicle created by the Milwaukee school board to provide active leadership from the community in the formulation and implementation of a desegregation plan. (Author/AM)

This guide contains information and activities designed to be used during National Wildlife Week. These curriculum materials are organized into three stages and offer a coherent progression from learning about natural communities through understanding human communities and human responsibilities for natural communities to offering opportunities…

This guide is designed to assist teachers and youth leaders in helping youth develop civic action skills. Section 1 offers a planning guide for action projects and focuses on how to develop such a project. Section 2 provides samples of eight community action projects with their descriptions, goals, resources needed, relevant facts and figures, a…