This paper suggests ways that educators can learn about family needs, assess readiness for family-school cooperation, explore community resources, and activate an effective family-school relationship. Examples of family-school-community programs are provided. (SJL)

Examining the benefits of an environmental center, this article details educational, scientific, cultural, and recreational objectives of an environmental center as defined by the National Audubon Society. Journal availability: see RC 503 504. (SB)

The success of the national-service campaign may hinge on whether community agencies and those that they serve are involved in the process. Critical areas are the use of language that people can understand; public meetings; outreach that stresses diversity; funding; planning; action context; management; training; and evaluation. (SLD)

The Education Resource Center (ERC) is a community-based teachers' resource center located in Chicago (Illinois). Its conceptual base is broader than that of a typical teachers center as ERC represents a community-based social movement with a wider orientation than teacher training. ERC's policy board reflects community organizations and the…

A demonstration project, called the New York City Cultural Voucher Program, was implemented through support from the Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education of the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. The project was designed to expand the kinds of audiences that use cultural institutions and expand the range of services that…

This bibliography contains 77 items relative to the problems of self-, community, and program development within community colleges and includes books, journal articles, dissertations, and ERIC materials from 1970 to the present as well as a few fundamental sources dated before 1970. The bibliography is divided into five sections: general…

Reexamines definitions of "ruralness" and "resources." Describes three types of support services common to human service agencies. Discusses influence as a program development resource, advantage of rural programs, incumbent social work roles related to resource development, and what makes a program successful. Lists four program development…

This is a story about how a national Canadian environmental education program (Green Street) evolved in unpredictable ways and about the particular twist in the road that led program stakeholders to focus on scaling up in different ways than originally imagined. The "twist" occurred when the program reached the initially perceived…

This document explains how to establish study circles for public dialogue and community problem solving with the aim of building strong neighborhoods. The foreword explains the value of study circles in addressing the challenges currently facing all kinds of neighborhoods and presents 10 specific guidelines for organizing study circles in a…

In 2000, the California State Legislature passed what is now known as the Juvenile Justice Crime Prevention Act (JJCPA). This effort was designed to provide a stable funding source to counties for juvenile programs that have been proven effective in curbing crime among juvenile probationers and young at-risk offenders. The Corrections Standards…

This article describes a collaborative, distance-delivered, teacher preparation program for rural, culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) teacher candidates. Multiple institutions partnered with one university in order to diversify the teaching force in the region and meet the needs of CLD students living there. In describing the program's…

STRIDE (Success Through Reading Improvement and DEvelopment) is a literacy program developed in 1986 by Crowder College, located in the rural Ozarks of southwestern Missouri. Serving all age groups with trained literacy tutors ranging in age from 11 to over 60, STRIDE has been built on five main activities: (1) develop a philosophy that is…

This literature review examines the utilization of community needs assessment data in program planning and evaluation efforts at community colleges. The review first defines and looks at the purposes of community needs assessments, noting that while such studies are purported to facilitate the planning and evaluation of credit and non-credit…

Covering 1979-80, which was the final year of the initial four year grant period for the Partnership for Rural Improvement (PRI), this report details the major assessments and program adjustments made during that year. Several program developments of critical importance to understanding the transition occurring in PRI are highlighted in the…

Describes a project in which the learning resource center of Mattatuck Community College, a member of a regional consortium, cooperated with Hispanic and other minority groups in producing videotapes. These videotapes were designed to disseminate information about minority cultures and achievements via public access television. (CLB)