In rural Oklahoma, the role of the superintendent is often vastly different than that of superintendents in large cities. The superintendent is the leader of the school district, which is typically the community's largest employer. There are a few examples of superintendents who embrace this sometimes overwhelming responsibility and who are often…

Discusses research on 16 black and 12 white neighborhoods, concluding that the role of local neighborhoods as a power base is a most specialized and complex one in the black community and that clearly defining the character of local neighborhood contexts permits the assessment of several alternatives in the design of social interventions.…

Twenty-nine community characteristics were studied to determine which were statistically most useful as predictors of per-pupil Federal aid to the 169 school districts of Connecticut. Three regression models were developed using community traits as predictors of Federal aid allocations. Cross-validation of regression models to predict future…

Suggests that school systems "audit" their communication system to assess their communication needs. Provides two tests that audit a school system's environment and its community. The test results indicate whether the system's communication program should emphasize formal or informal communication methods. (RW)

Examines economic, social, and fiscal indicators available from federal data sources that can be used in classification systems for rural school districts. Compares the strengths and weaknesses of the various indicators. Recommends that researchers use multiple indicators or alternative data sources to mitigate potential problems of unintentional…

Interviews with educators and community members in a very small rural Nebraska school district suggested causes for the district's exceptionally high superintendent turnover rate: low salary and status, lack of challenge, use of the position as a stepping stone, declining economy and population, community transition, and the superintendent's…

Describes the community of Sarasota County in Florida (Tampa) as one in which the arts are highly valued. Explains that the Sarasota County School Board eliminated the arts program devastating Sarasota County and the surrounding areas. Introduces three articles that discuss the elimination and renewal of Sarasota County's arts program. (CMK)

This report offers a review of the Chicago Public Schools' official policy on promotion and retention, a discussion of research on the issue of retention, and an analysis of June, 1989 retention rates in Chicago. The first section covers retention and promotion policies in Chicago and other cities and research on the effects of retention and…

This paper draws upon data from a longitudinal study of students in four Wisconsin elementary schools to probe for the linkages between school- and home-related variables and students' academic achievement. Data were collected from fall 1979 through spring 1982. Subjects, enrolled in the third grade during the 1979-80 school year, were followed…

Data regarding community participation for 66 school systems enrolling 50,000 or more students show such participation at the local school and districtwide levels for all 66 systems. Sixty-seven percent also report community participation at the decentralized level. (CMG)

This paper is a critique of the utility of Bidwell and Kasarda's "socio-ecological" model of school district-level academic achievement. The paper is considered to show that this model is seriously misspecified due to its omission of aggregate levels of academic ability. Based on achievement test data from the 24 school district of the…

The purpose of this book is to describe changes in school-community interaction and to suggest appropriate responses by educators in general, and administrators in particular. School community relations are adversely affected by an organizational phenomenon--bureaucracy--and by psychological factors of educators--attitudes, opinions, interests.…

In an effort to lend technical assistance to rural isolated school systems, the Southeastern Education Laboratory has developed a series of materials and strategies to bring all available resources to bear on local educational problems. First in a series of 7, the "Comprehensive Planning Guide" was developed to assist local school planners in…

The six topics presented, each dealing with the El Camino Community College District (California), are: (1) population and dwelling units of cities and communities, (2) analysis of the October 12, 1971 tax rate election, (3) selected housing characteristics, (4) a comparison of the percent of registered voters voting in a tax rate election with…

Although rural children with mild or moderate handicaps have been integrated into the regular classroom, children with severe or low-incidence handicaps continue to be underserved by rural schools. Traditional service delivery models are inadequate in rural areas where many levels of the traditional service continuum and adequate staff and funding…