Describes field trips and related activities in which nearby institutions, local celebrities, and distinctive aspects of community life are employed to enrich the Schools Reaching Out project at the David A. Ellis School in Roxbury (MA). (DM)

Compares the Schools Reaching Out programs at two elementary schools in Roxbury (MA) and New York City with four similar projects elsewhere. Describes how an intervenor not involved with the ordinary operation of the school can help design, direct, motivate, and assess a school outreach program. (DM)

Describes collaboration between Phineas Bates School and Washington-Beech Community Preschool in Boston, which links public housing families with preschool children to nearby elementary school. Lack of child care often prevents parents from working or furthering their own education. By integrating early childhood education with child care, program…

Describes the parent and community involvement project at the David A. Ellis School in Roxbury (MA), which includes a Parent Center within the school, field trips, tutoring assistance by university students, and ESL and GED classes for parents. (DM)

Describes the use of teacher researcher teams in problem solving and evaluation in the David A. Ellis School's Schools Reaching Out project. Provides guidelines for such teams in other schools. (DM)

Home-school-community collaborative programs often fail because of lack of administrative support and the difficulty of involving many lower income parents. Recommends supervision at the district level and care in choosing programs and personnel appropriate to the site. (DM)

A university-assisted participatory action project, the West Philadelphia Improvement Corps (WEPIC), has worked with several schools in Philadelphia to develop comprehensive community school projects. WEPIC is now a school-based neighborhood and school revitalization movement that attempts to serve, educate, involve, and activate all members of…

The crisis in urban public education is a crisis of community. A program of urban school reform founded on community renewal would operate on the following three levels: (1) strengthening schools as community institutions; (2) reorganizing schools as models of community; and (3) making community issues the focus of study in schools. (AF)

Through means such as parent choice, participation in a home visitor program, and work with a church group, "hard to reach" parents can become involved in the following aspects of education: (1) decision-making; (2) home-school coordinated activities; (3) advocacy; (4) school support; and (5) parent education and support. (BJV)

Legislation in 1977 strengthened the role of school councils, comprised of teachers, parents, and students, in South Carolina to increase community and parent participation in schools. Accomplishments achieved and obstacles encountered by school councils are discussed. Aspects of effective councils are identified. (BJV)

Provides some ideas for involving schools in community revitalization developed in a 1987 conference for 20 educators and community representatives of the Chicago (Illinois) Innovations Forum. Projects center on the following topics: (1) students and teachers; (2) teachers; (3) courses; (4) in-school venture; (5) facilities; and (6) purchasing.…

Decentralized decision-making is an important characteristic of effective schools. Effective decentralization requires that teachers, parents, students, and the community be involved, despite the various problems they face. The creation of school improvement councils is one step towards implementing the massive structural change needed to improve…

Interviews with 150 low-income parents in three countries reveal that their low involvement with the schools was due to the fact that teachers and administrators have a substandard view of low-socioeconomic status families, and the parents have low assessments of their own educational effectiveness. Empowerment programs in each country are…