In 1995, Public Agenda and the Institute for Educational Leadership joined forces to develop a means for citizens, community leaders, and educators to hold public conversations on issues facing America's schools. Conversations help community members build common ground for improving schools. Success hinges on credible local sponsors, group…

Explains the development and delivery of a Bachelor of Nursing Science degree as a distance education program at James Cook University (Australia). Topics include physical isolation; distance and access; resources; financial costs to students; course development; scheduling clinical placements and residential schools; student expectations;…

Under the guidance of a new superintendent, an underfunded and uninspired rural New England school district galvanized community support for school improvement and completely revitalized its program through collaborative decision making. Goal setting, used by individual classroom teachers, committees, and administrative teams, became part of the…

Describes the advantages of public relations to a school music program. Suggests that, to succeed, a music program must have the support of school administrators, teachers, parents, and students alike. Recommends means of attracting support from the four groups. Stresses the importance of effective local publicity. (SG)

Computer Ease is an intergenerational program designed to put an Ohio elementary school's computer lab, software library, staff, and students at the disposal of older adults desiring to become computer literate. Three 90-minute instructional sessions allow seniors to experience 1-to-1 high-tech instruction by enthusiastic, nonthreatening…

Explains how the Metropolitan Nashville Public Schools used budget management and community support in successfully building new facilities and preparing the district for expanding instructional technology programs and providing new ones. An overview of the Nashville Public School district is presented along with data on how the district divides…

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…

Community-service programs that lack administrative or community support are destined to fail. The success of mandatory programs depends on careful preparations, stakeholder buy-in, academic merits, program quality, staff support, safeguards for students, accurate recordkeeping, and recognition of long-term educational benefits. (MLH)

Discusses three predominant themes encountered by facilities managers and architects when planning and designing educational facilities: flexibility requirements, fiscal pressure, and community focus. (EV)

South Carolina's successful comprehensive school plan to develop and maintain public support for its school reform package, the Education Improvement Act, is offered in this paper, which focuses on the necessity of public support for successful reform. Key components of the plan are described, which include timing and public interest, state…

While new school construction bond elections for rural school districts can be difficult to pass, success is possible. This paper presents one superintendent's effective campaign to build a $4.2 million elementary school within a rural community. It reveals the need to continually reinforce the message of committing to educational quality combined…

Well-planned, cooperative efforts to develop positive attitudes can generate improved school climate and improved student performance, as illustrated by the experience of the Duval County (Florida) Public Schools. The district's marketing efforts focus on progress reporting and performance recognition both internally and externally. Among the…

The purpose of this publication is to furnish information on health education programs provided by the public schools in Cook County, Illinois. The booklet is divided into two parts. Material is presented from school districts representative of all geographical areas of the county on the purpose and scope of their particular health education…

Increasingly, taxpayers are unwilling to suport educational programs they do not understand. Based on the premise that such support comes from an enlightened public, this article proposes a carefully orchestrated citizen visiting team to examine school programs and report results to the board. Includes two references. (MLH)

Describes the City of York (Pennsylvania) School System's development of a K-12 AIDS curriculum using an advisory committee comprised of school administrators, teachers, noninstructional staff, health care professionals, and college students. The program gained wide community acceptance because of accurate, complete newspaper coverage and because…