This is the Phase I report for a needs assessment and accompanying study sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education which was conducted during the 2010 calendar year. This report seeks to determine the importance of nine essential elements to being classified as a school in need of improvement. 61 schools are involved in this study…

Describes ways in which the General Advisory Council for Vocational Education in Petersburg, Virginia helped the system's comprehensive vocational education program cope with reduced funding. (SK)

Describes the plan used in Consolidated High School District 230, in Palos Hills (Illinois), for fostering an informed and interested school community by providing standardized test results to the school board, central and building administrators, parents, teachers, counselors, elementary educators, and the local press. (PGD)

A Jonesboro, Arkansas project was designed and implemented to increase the awareness of vocational education, increase community support and involvement in vocational education, and establish improved communication in the vocational-technical education field. Interaction between the vocational-technical school and the local school community was a…

Educators capitalize on national attention through two vehicles: foundations and coalitions. Generally focused on raising money, successful foundations have broad community support. Coalitions, made up of state groups, work to improve the image of education. Outlined are groups successful in developing community support. (MD)

At Owsley County Elementary School (Booneville, Kentucky), the number of parent and community volunteers has doubled over the past 5 years. The school employs a full-time coordinator of parent involvement, has a parent center, and reaches out to the wider community with a monthly newsletter delivered to every county household. Benefits of parent…

The press has the power either to foster or to diminish confidence in the schools. Educators must learn some ways to use the news media to the schools' advantage. (JM)

A parent and the music supervisor from the Ridgewood Public Schools in New Jersey describe how parents formed the Friends of Music association to provide moral and some financial support to the district's music education program. (Part of a theme issue on the crisis in music education.) (SJL)

This publication offers descriptions of partnerships that businesses have formed with local schools to provide funds, support, and guidance to South Carolina's elementary and secondary school system. Twenty-one such partnerships are highlighted. The participation of the South Carolina Bar/South Carolina Bar Foundation in school projects under the…

Briefly discusses no-plan approach and linear approach to school district computer involvement and suggests contingency planning approach is better. Components of this approach--conducting situation audit of internal and external environments, generating within-district support, formulating district-wide policies, and developing an ongoing…

Beginning on the front cover, this article recommends planning ahead and involving the community in surplus school use decisions. It suggests turning surplus schools into projects restoring historic buildings and benefitting neighborhoods. (JM)

An ambitious school and community drug education program won community support after the appearance of a controversial school newspaper article featuring an anonymous interview with a drug pusher drew national attention to the problem of drug abuse in the community and schools. (DCS)

In Waitsburg, Washington, the community was actively involved in a rural school facilities improvement project. The district serves approximately 410 students in three buildings on a single campus. Spurred by growing enrollment and aging facilities, the project included the complete renovation and restoration of a historic school building to serve…

Cleveland voters soundly rejected a levy intended to bolster the school district's finances, a move widely interpreted as a referendum on the performance of its leader, Barbara Byrd-Bennett. Two-thirds of the voters who turned out for the Aug. 2 special election cast their ballots against Issue 3, which would have raised more than $45 million to…

The passage of a bond issue in support of school building construction or renovation can be one of the most difficult activities for a rural school district. The process of getting a bond passed requires a delicate mix of public relations, community education, and consensus building. In this chapter, a superintendent in a rural district describes…