The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) is designed to encourage banks and thrifts to meet the financial credit and service needs of low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, requiring that lenders use their private-sector resources to meet the financing needs of all communities in which lenders conduct business. This brief outlines several types of…

This book examines the place of the arts in the schools and how to establish that place. The document makes the case for the role of the visual arts, music, dance, drama, architecture, and aesthetics in educating boys and girls while simultaneously using the arts as a vehicle for school renewal. A special focus of the book is the rational for, and…

While volunteers are important for Cooperative Extension Services, Extension agents encounter problems in the training of volunteers, the supervision of volunteers, and the completion of reports on volunteers. The use of middle management level volunteer coordinators can alleviate these problems. Extension agents can train their best volunteers as…

This guidebook presents 64 profiles of successful economic development initiatives in the small towns and rural areas of 37 states. Intended for use by rural and small town leaders and rural economic development specialists, the guide provides ideas, encouragement, and an "insider perspective" on alternative rural development strategies.…

Developed to provide community animators or facilitators, extension workers, and trainers in east, central, and southern Africa with units and modules useful in compiling training courses to meet their own needs, this three-part guide includes, for each target group, a discussion of the group's needs/problems and roles and suggests learning…

Describes the Archdiocese of Chicago's Sharing program, in which affluent parishes link up with their poorer counterparts to form friendships, solve problems, and overcome the anonymity of charitable work. Reveals outcomes including the annual sharing of $2 million among parishes. Offers examples of parish-to-parish support and suggestions for…

Describes a simulation game which introduces concepts and problems associated with community planning. Initial activities include a role-playing exercise focusing on decisions related to a vacant lot; implications for various decisions are noted. Also gives suggested questions to address when planning a town. (DH)

The KIDS Consortium is a private, non-profit organization that seeks to promote, facilitate, and institutionalize the involvement of children and youth in their communities in Maine. Kids as Planners, the central program of the KIDS Consortium, gives students the opportunity to become apprentice citizens by working with adult citizens in hands-on…

Looks at the respective roles of the diocese, parish, and school in creating good fund-raising and development programs. Considers what each has to offer, what each has to gain, and how their efforts can be coordinated. (DMM)

People working together on community projects benefit both themselves and the community. Quality Circles (Theory Z) is an example of this principle at work in industry. Employees who are involved in the decision-making process turn out a lower-cost, higher-quality product. This concept could prove valuable in small schools if students were…

This publication reports accomplishments of the National Extension Task Force for Community Leadership and makes recommendations for strengthening educational programming in community leadership in the Cooperative Extension System. The recommendations are presented in the context of a "white paper" rather than formal policy. High…

Developed as a result of the project, Strategies for Linking Vocational Education Programs to Tribal Economic Plans, the guide contains information obtained from 20 tribes who are currently providing vocational education programs under the One Percent Set-Aside Federal Vocational Education funding, a program that provides the opportunity for…

Argues that public schools can be a means of developing and nurturing community. Discusses two forms of community: rule-oriented, contract-bound (gesellschaft) and personal-sharing oriented (gemeinschaft). Suggests modes of skill development necessary for educational leaders. Reflects on ways of integrating homeless children and new immigrants…

This project focuses on non-formal and adult education for women in rural areas of Uttar Pradesh, India. The objectives of the project were: (1) to provide non-formal education to girls and adult education to women in a coordinated manner; (2) to raise civic and social awareness of women; (3) to decentralize planning and implementation of programs…

Case studies of two, successful, rural, self-development programs in India are presented in this document, which is designed to supplement the study of India in the social studies curriculum. After a brief introduction to India's village system, the two projects are discussed. The first case study presents a water collection system in Bagrunda…