Purpose: To equitably transform urban schools of color and the neighborhoods where they are nested requires approaches that promote community equity and foster solidarity among a range of stakeholders. However, most school-community approaches solely focus on improving school-based outcomes and leave educational leaders with little guidance for…

The Making Connections initiative, which works to build strong families and strong neighborhoods in 22 cities, promotes an explicit communication policy to get the kind of support and involvement that can make a difference. This guide defines the principles and components of effective communication and shows how communicating can be a critical…

Crime prevention works. This simple fact is often forgotten in the ongoing debate over crime and its causes. Prevention works when individuals take common-sense actions to protect themselves, their families and property. The theme from Crime Prevention Month 1995 goes back to these basics: good home security, self-protection skills for kids and…

Based on the view that strengthening families and neighborhoods can improve the life chances of vulnerable children, this discussion guide is designed to help communities participating in study circle programs to bring people from all segments of the neighborhood together to share different views and experiences, thereby building stronger…

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of University Partnerships helps support the process of forming higher education-community development partnerships through its Community Outreach Partnership Centers (COPC) and Joint Community Development (JCD) initiatives. This handbook describes COPC and JCD initiatives for building…

This guide shares information about setting up and operating Neighborhood Networks centers. (These centers operate in Department of Housing and Urban Development-assisted or -insured housing nationwide to help low-income people boost their basic skills and find good jobs, learn to use computers and the Internet, run businesses, improve their…

Advocates including school-age children in community service programs as a way to give back to the community, build confidence, create a sense of power to make a difference, organize, solve problems, develop strategies, make decisions, and gain personal gratification. Includes guidelines for planning and ideas for community service projects. (SD)

This document contains (1) a monograph investigating and describing conditions under which it is cost-beneficial to operate an enriched YCCIP (Youth Community Conservation and Improvement Project) design and (2) a guidebook to work project enrichment. The first sections of the monograph focus on the attributes of an enriched YCCIP activity in…

This document is intended to assist local authorities in England and Wales who are interested in forming local strategic partnerships (LSPs) with the community and voluntary sectors. Section 1 presents the following guidelines for LSPs when developing a community strategy to meet local priorities: (1) have each local area prepare a plan to improve…

This guide is intended to assist managers within England's local authority adult and community education services in supporting neighborhood renewal through adult and community learning (ACL). The guide's overall aim is to promote the skills, knowledge, and understanding that underpin the following items: (1) identification and development of…

This document explains how to establish study circles for public dialogue and community problem solving with the aim of building strong neighborhoods. The foreword explains the value of study circles in addressing the challenges currently facing all kinds of neighborhoods and presents 10 specific guidelines for organizing study circles in a…

This guide offers insight, advice, examples, and resources aimed at community education practitioners in the United Kingdom who want to establish sustainable community education and neighborhood renewal programs promoting active citizenship and social change. The following topics are discussed: (1) neighborhoods in crisis; (2) proposed government…

This document is a step-by-step guide to organizing a study circle program to serve as a vehicle to achieve communitywide dialogue for action and change. Part 1 provides an overview of communitywide study circle programs, with special emphasis on their operation and impact. Part 2 details the following steps in organizing a communitywide study…