Increasing community involvement in out-of-school time programs can yield significant benefits to programs and the students that they serve. Community partnerships have the potential to meet a wide variety of needs, from improving participant recruitment and attendance to contributing volunteers or other resources to programs. This research brief…

Suggests tools to increase community interest and support for public libraries including a public relations campaign, neighborhood action group, and community board. The advantages of community independence and decision sharing are discussed. (SW)

Describes how, with the help of the federal government, a community in Portland, Oregon was able to rebuild a local elementary school following integration. (LRA)

Discusses an effort by students, parents, alumni, and alumni parents to help clean and paint Bishop Fenwick High School, in Massachusetts, as a way to "give something back" to the school; the event has been a springboard for other community service events, such as a landscaping day at the school. (AJL)

Parks and recreation agencies must adapt to decreased federal funding by improving efficiency, developing new sources of income, building public support, and making cuts if necessary. All staff members should be part of the decison making process. (JMK)

Despite a long tradition of public support for public education, America today is experiencing the erosion of public commitment to public schools. Chapter 1 of this book describes the reasons for the disconnection between schools and communities and argues that fundamental change must start with the public and within the community in order to…

Although rural schools often are the center of community life, ownership of rural education is not necessarily vested in all elements of the community. Without diligent planning, many members of the rural community do not become stockholders in the community's largest enterprise, public education. The program approach to public education has…

Assesses the potential power of an active community college alumni association in political situations, in student recruitment, and on advisory committees. Advocates inclusive membership; discusses yearly membership fees v financial support by the college; stresses the importance of making college services available to members and of providing…

Describes the need for and advantages of community involvement in education because of changing school roles. Describes three levels of community education as well as strategies to inform and bring the community into the public schools. Discusses skills needed by community leaders to advance community education. (SB)

Disengagement, the final phase in the community development process, receives little attention in the literature. Many community development practitioners make decisions regarding disengagement intuitively. This exploratory study of disengagement from community units was based on interviews with eleven University of Missouri Extension Community…

A renewed call from national and state governments to strengthen connections between public schools and their communities invites people outside of the school system to play an active role in the decision-making process. Despite recent efforts to connect public schools and their communities, the two parties remain disconnected. This paper reflects…

During the 20th century, the involvement of communities in education has deteriorated, and the school and the community have evolved into separate worlds. This chapter describes ways in which a typical high school has increased its interactions with its own community. Those interactions have two dimensions: to bring the community into the school…

Argues that comprehensive arts education includes multiple art forms learning, skills development, critical analysis, historic context, and expression opportunities. Its future may be in partnerships between arts educators and arts institutions. Examines past and current partnership successes and concludes that partnerships can ensure future…

This report discusses the need to provide people with disabilities with accessible opportunities for community contribution and to provide the individualized supports and assistance necessary to enable their participation. Two strategies are discussed for realizing these objectives: adequate individual funding controlled by people with…

This paper describes one effort to establish a collaborative around the issues of at-risk youth. The Annie E. Casey Foundation's New Futures Initiative was an attempt to build formal structures of collaboration among public and private organizations to address at-risk youth. Data were gathered over 5 years from the six cities in which the program…