In recent years issues concerning community support for education and participation in educational management have come to the fore in developing Asian and Pacific countries. The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization, Principal Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCO/PROAP) has organized regional training…

The skills needed by the principal for developing and maintaining good school/community relations are synthesized from recent research and presented in this brief document. These universal concepts are applicable to both large and small schools. The topics included are the principal's responsibility to the community, necessary political skills,…

Reforming schools involves change and, like all change, it faces opposition. This 2-part report is designed to help local school and community leaders involved in education who are experiencing growing opposition to school improvement efforts. The first part includes materials and resources educational leaders can use to promote change. Each entry…

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…

This paper discusses the importance of generating more support for the public schools among nonparent taxpayers and offers numerous suggestions for communicating with nonparents and involving them in the schools. The author points out that only 26 percent of all homes have school-age children and argues that, although many schools do a good job of…

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…

Schoolyard ecosystem programs, such as mini-farms, gardens, or nature trails on school grounds, are usually designed to promote greater insight and understanding of ecological relationships and develop an appreciation of an individual's responsibility for environmental quality. This paper focuses on evaluation practices of schoolyard habitat…

Describes how a citizen's advisory committee in Arlington County, Virginia formulated criteria that the school board could use in recruiting and appointing a new superintendent. The final recommendations focused on two categories of superintendent attributes--educational leadership and personal qualifications. (LMI)

This workbook offers information about building community support for educational reform, particularly for improving mathematics and science education. Following an introductory chapter that explains the need for community support, the second chapter offers step-by-step suggestions for bringing the community together, some of which are identifying…

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)

Guidelines and ideas for creating successful school/community projects are provided in this handbook. Organized like a cookbook, the book contains 43 chapters by individual contributors who take a community-based approach to education, in which the schools are the pivotal institutions of a community. The first section outlines the roles, or…

In this document various aspects of community response to school desegregation are considered. General themes presented are the role of the community in the integration process as well as some ways in which the process can be facilitated by purposeful organization. A Checklist for Assessing School Desegregation Plans serves as an instrument…

It is the purpose of the present report to alert community organizers, school officials, and scholars to their mutual interest in securing community involvement in the planning and execution of bilingual programs. Strategies are proposed for bilingual communities to follow when confronted with mandated bilingual education. The proposed process is…

It is nearly impossible for one individual or a small committee to understand the complex needs of an entire school system and its community. Only by partnering with local business and community leaders, parents, teachers and third-party experts can local boards of education and school administrators grasp the unique needs of their community. Only…