Because school systems throughout America depend on local property taxes for much of their revenue, districts with poor property valuations, especially rural districts, are facing fiscal crises. In response to a lawsuit filed in 1991, the Ohio Supreme Court twice decided that the state's heavy reliance on local property taxes for school funding…

This book examines the efforts of Valley Interfaith--a community-based organization in the south Texas borderlands--to improve the living conditions of low-income residents and immigrants and the public schools their children attend. Valley Interfaith is unusual in that it crosses the boundary separating the worlds of community organizing and…

Lexington, Kentucky has put the concept of collaboration into practice by creating a Community Education Work Council. Through the Council, business, union, education, and government representatives are improving the transition from school to work. The development of the Council and organizational problems are discussed. (Author/JMD)

Provides guidelines that will help educators take a leadership role when they work with community leaders to plan for community-wide efforts to provide families with high-quality school-age child care services. (BB)

Describes how an undersupported rural elementary school in Mississippi became a model school with the unique Voyages curriculum. Under the dynamic, professional leadership of its principal, the school and teachers involved the entire community, local legislators, and others to gain support and funds for its innovative program that created an…

Describes the development and content of teacher guides from The Giraffe Project, a social values and community service program. States that the teacher guides are available for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-9, and 10-12. Maintains that the materials would be appropriate for schools integrating a service component into the curriculum. (CFR)

The fall 1987 Chicago (Illinois) teachers' strike, documentation of the systems' problems, a movement to return local control, a history of organizing, the fall 1986 Education Summit, and skepticism about the board's ability to engineer change led to the school system's restructuring through the Chicago Public Schools Reform Act. (JB)

Discusses the conflict between socialist government leaders in Tanzania, who favor universal primary education and slow growth of (primarily vocational) secondary education, and parents demanding academic secondary schools for their children. Describes the situation in the wealthy region of Kilimanjaro, where communities have established private…

A Vermont project, the Environmental Programs/Partnerships in Communities (EPIC) project provides a transferable model for rural development. The program is sensitive to people and environmental needs, and emphasizes long-term functioning of the entire community system, not just specific outcomes. EPIC has supported leadership training, local…

Alcatraz, the Trail of Broken Treaties, Wounded Knee--these are the well-known sites of "takeovers" by American Indian activists, mostly members of the American Indian Movement or AIM, in the 1960s and 1970s. AIM began in 1968, in Minneapolis-St. Paul, when urban Indians organized to protect their rights and preserve their traditions.…

This book describes the success of mentor programs and of individuals such as Hillary Clinton, Barbara Bush, Bill Cosby, and Arnold Schwarzenegger among many others, who have worked as mentors in public schools. The first section describes the work of Eugene Lang and his "I Have a Dream" program. The second section describes the work of…

This issue of the Canadian quarterly "Transitions," in French and English language versions, examines the prevention of youth crime, with a specific focus on activities, trends, and research dealing with Canadian families. Major articles in this issue are: (1) "A Snowball's Chance? Communities and Families Working to Prevent Youth…

This bibliography contains 163 entries related to rural and community leadership. The entries were derived from the AGRICOLA database produced by the National Agricultural Library and include journal articles, Extension bulletins, books, conference papers, and government reports. Entries cover such topics as leadership training, community…

The St. Louis (Missouri) Regional Child Care Partnership was created in 1990 to improve child care in the St. Louis and Metro East areas, where the quality, availability, and affordability of child care are community-wide problems. The partnership was formed by the Child Day Care Association of St. Louis and the St. Louis branches of the Junior…

The Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma was awarded a grant to provide education services to Cherokee adults in small, relatively isolated communities of northeastern Oklahoma. The program was designed to test strategies to reach and teach that population effectively. The staff of instructors were highly skilled, made the classroom less threatening to…