This book is a comparative analysis of the tensions, compromises and conflicts over school reform in four urban school systems in the United States. In examining the contradictory forces that shaped urban education in the U.S., it illuminates how grassroots movements operated during the early twentieth century. Unlike many of the standard…

This survey of public opinion about Chicago Public Schools charts responses in the following areas: (1) general evaluation of the public schools; (2) grading the staff; (3) the biggest problems facing Chicago schools; (4) a range of proposed reforms; and (5) finances. Characteristics of the respondents and public school parents also are plotted.…

This paper focuses on the conflicts between communities and schools that occur as change and reform activities are implemented. The discussion (1) describes the nature of the relationship between educational organizations and the local (and more remote) environment; (2) suggests conditions that may cause the relationship between schools and local…

This report discusses the values, ethical standards, and moral reasoning practices of members of the community college community and the general population in the state of Illinois. A survey was sent to randomly selected students, faculty, and staff at Illinois community colleges. All 48 colleges participated and 1,659 responses were received. A…

Question: What do you do when your parish grade school becomes too expensive to operate? Answer: Turn actual control of the school over to the local community and seek federal financing for the new school. Sound impossible? St. Stephens Indian School on the Wind River Reservation in northcentral Wyoming has done just that. (Author/RK)

Discusses nine major characteristics of rural schools which affected their willingness to accept change, as revealed in a study of the five-year Rural Experimental Schools Program. Available from: Rural Sociological Society, 325 Morgan Hall, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 37916. (NEC)

This paper draws on findings from a major research project conducted between 1998 and 2000 on meanings of reconciliation in the school education sector. Using data collected from surveys and drawing from the community context in which schools exist, it explores and analyses meanings of reconciliation within school communities when the discourse of…

This agenda for educational improvement in Oakland (California) outlines community expectations of the school system and gives specific examples of what those expectations mean in practice. More than 800 individuals from neighborhood groups, churches, parent organizations, school district staff, and business and professional associations testified…

The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 was adopted after the Kentucky Supreme Court declared the state's system of schools unconstitutional. The purpose of this study was to identify the sources of information about KERA and to describe community attitudes toward KERA in rural Kentucky school districts during the first few months the law…

This paper presents a case study of a rural community exhibiting a dramatic turnaround in community support for a new school bond issue. Demographic change was partly responsible for the change in community attitudes, with two waves of immigration altering the long-term conservative orientation of this community. After a series of failed…

This publication presents 13 papers selected from a conference on school choice, which was designed to shed light on what is meant by school choice, what proposals are being advanced to achieve choice, and how various sections of the community view the issue. Following a preface and a list of participants in the conference, an essay by Christopher…

From June 1973 to June 1975 the development and implementation of a Model K-14 career education program was attempted in the North Kingstown Schools in Rhode Island. Project objectives included the development of career and self-awareness, provisions for exploratory and work experiences, provisions for job placement at graduation, and provisions…

The "Access to Democracy" project has two broad goals. It is an effort to understand community beliefs, attitudes and conditions that shape educational outcomes for community youth, and it is a way to focus community discussions on efforts that support higher educational attainment for residents. This report focuses on the lessons…

As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study examines the implementation of the Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) improvement process in the village of Tatitlek in south-central Alaska. The village has about 100 residents, mostly of Alutiiq heritage (Native peoples of Prince William Sound). A…

As part of a larger study of systemic educational reform in rural Alaska, this case study examined the implementation of the Alaska Onward to Excellence (AOTE) improvement process in Klawock. Klawock is a town of about 750 Tlingit and non-Native residents on Prince of Wales Island in far southeastern Alaska with a K-12 school that serves 212…