This paper discusses how strengthening connections between the school and its community can help to improve a school's problem solving capacity. The paper is based on data collected by the Documentation and Technical Assistance Project of the Center for New Schools (Chicago, Illinois), from observation of nine school sites which were involved in…

Vermont experienced a rapid expansion of federal childhood funding and programs (accompanied by their voluminous and sometimes contradictory regulations), and identified the need to unify the system after recognizing that the complexity of the early childhood education service delivery system was bewildering for parent-consumers. This report…

Outlines the benefits of community and staff councils at school sites and their role in advancing equity in education. Councils can promote equity by broadening the base of citizen participation and enabling schools to mobilize other community resources. Realization of equity benefits depends on the talents of council leaders. (SA)

Reviews the literature on the importance of community involvement in achieving desegregation and other broad social and educational goals; details risks that must be taken into account when planning meaningful involvement; and specifies techniques for fostering community involvement, with attention directed to the strengths and weaknesses of each.…