Many new ideas arise at the borders of systems. Academics and educators engage in research and reform of the education system itself, but much that is innovative in today's schools originates outside the classroom, in a burgeoning set of programs and partnerships with the voluntary or community sector, and in the relationships being established by…

This article considers various aspects that affect mathematically talented students and may have a positive or negative impact on their continuing pursuits to learn more mathematics. Here, the authors present five foundational issues such as: (1) The child deserves all the help he needs, including additional resources, experiences, and…

Describes a service to parents that connected those experiencing urgent parenting needs with individuals and agencies capable of providing help. (RH)

Community asset mapping is one approach to community assessment. According to Kretzmann and McKnight (1993), discovering the assets, capacities, and resources embedded in a community leads people to take responsibility for and ownership of rebuilding and renewing their community. Community mapping is a tool for consideration by family and consumer…

Space travel, even low Earth orbit, is probably several years away for most of us; however, students and teachers can research the edge of space by participating in the BalloonSat program. BalloonSat is an offshoot of the Space Grant Consortium's very successful RocketSat program. The Arkansas BalloonSat program consists of teacher-initiated…

Education finance has emerged as one of the most pressing public policy issues of the new century. Americans spend more than $500 billion a year on elementary and secondary education, yet neither policy-makers nor practitioners seems to know how to align these resources with student learning goals. In fact, spending increases have outstripped…

For the past century and more, music education in the United States has focused primarily on Western European music traditions. Despite considerable efforts to include music from other regions and peoples in the curriculum, traditional music from world cultures is still not greatly represented. The benefits of a curriculum that incorporates…

Describes a small Charlotte, North Carolina, bookstore specializing in black literature. Aside from selling books, the author/owner provides the community with a meeting place for local workshops, a bulletin board promoting local black businesses, a newsletter for patrons, a mail-order service, and conversation with customers. (SA)

Describes a Harlem-based community bookstore and the services that the owner, Una Mulzac, offers the community. The shop stocks one of New York City's largest selection of books on Afro-American and African history and culture. (SA)

Describes the use of cable television for social service presentations to serve the community and enhance the status of the profession. Four areas are discussed: information and referral, education and prevention, programs for special groups, and community organization issues. (JAC)

Sustaining and strengthening tribal cultures, languages and traditions is at the core of every tribal college's mission statement. To help attain these goals, many colleges use one of Indian Country's greatest assets--its elders. Traditionally, elders hold a place of honor in American Indian society. Without cultural input from elders,…

The case study examines the causes and effects of childhood teasing on disabled children and notes the added stress of a new house and new neighborhood. Becoming more acquainted with community and school resources is seen as one way of dealing with the situation. (CL)

The SEFAM Program (Supporting Extended Family Members) in Settle, WA, has organized workshops for grandparents of handicapped children. Questionnaire responses of 21 workshop participants touch upon their initial reaction to the handicaps, their needs, their contributions, and the supports available to them. (CL)

More and more communities are rallying together to solve their own problems. These broad-based initiatives are illustrations of the international healthy communities movement. The healthy communities movement emerged from the World Health Organization in 1986 and has quickly spread across the globe. A cornerstone of the movement is the Ottawa…

High school students from throughout Ohio spend one week on the Ohio State University campus for academic, cultural, and social activities. The project is a model for providing differential experiences for gifted secondary students under the auspices of a State Department, University, local school districts, and business community. (Author)