When the bell rings at the end of a school day, millions of children are left to their own devices while they wait for their families to return home at the end of the work day. Findings from a study conducted by the Afterschool Alliance, "America After 3PM," show that 15.1 million children are unsupervised when the school day ends. The…

Graduation and dropout rates are the center of the conversation about high school reform, with President Obama and the U.S. Department of Education leading the charge to boost high school and college graduation rates among our nation's students in the next ten years. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to keeping teens in school and…

Research shows that students' sense of belonging in their school communities is critically linked to academic achievement. This ninth and final book in "The Soul of Educational Leadership" series offers practical strategies for promoting socially responsible school cultures that foster greater student engagement and democratic values. A joint…

This research was motivated by our desire for our students to achieve a deeper appreciation for the social justice aspect of our field, adult education, and also to engage them with the community. We sought to accomplish these ends as students at two different state universities volunteered to build a home with Habitat for Humanity. Data was…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine Texas Public School counselors' perceptions of family strengths in Hurricane Katrina African American evacuee children and adolescents and in their families. An additional purpose of this study was to determine how these counselors may have called upon these perceived strengths to intervene in…

(Purpose) This literature review discusses the history and application of science, technology, and society (STS) teaching methodologies. (Findings) Topics addressed in this paper include: (1) developmental history of STS; (2) fundamental beliefs of STS practitioners; (3) STS methodology in the classroom; (4) Difficulty in implementing STS; (5) STS…

This article reflects on the school's role in the building of citizenship, especially in socially vulnerable contexts. We argue, and try to show, that effective participation in decision-making processes is a key tool to promote conditions that help in social transformation and the formation of active citizenship. We offer a brief description of…

This study surveyed 45 selected primary and secondary schools in Botswana which aimed to identify how parent and community involvement in the governance of schools affect teacher effectiveness and improvement of learner performance. The study started from January 2005 to December 2006. Literature review, administration of questionnaires, interview…

This article analyses changes that have occurred in the elementary education system in Mexico since 1992 when an administrative de-concentration process took place. This process was accompanied by legal modifications that created opportunities for social participation in public elementary schools affairs. As a result, some school communities in…

This study examined the development of community involvement in a place-based high school program for at-risk youth. Teachers and community members founded the program to address concerns about low achievement and high dropout rates among Native Hawaiians. In addition to funding, community members provided program development, supervision of…

The infamous "Sydney Tar Ponds" are well known as one of the largest toxic waste sites of Canada, due to almost 100 years of steelmaking in Sydney, a once beautiful and peaceful city located on the east side of Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia. This article begins with a contextual overview of the Tar Ponds issue including a brief…

Lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of public education funding systems are currently underway in 21 states. Litigation represents an opportunity to restructure the ways in which public education is financed, expanded, and delivered to children across the country. Public engagement plays a uniquely important role to ensure real improvement…

This report summarizes many of Austin Independent School District's parent and community involvement activities for the 2007-2008 school year.

School-community partnerships make a difference in student achievement. Synthesizing 35 years of research to provide insight into "what works in schools," Robert Marzano (2003) concluded that community involvement is a critical factor. Though community involvement takes many forms, generally organizations such as libraries, museums, parks, zoos,…

Towson University was honored to host the 13th Annual Conference of the Coalition of Urban and Metropolitan Universities in Baltimore's Inner Harbor in October 2007. More than three hundred faculty, staff, and senior level administrators representing approximately eighty institutions, national and international, came together for three days to…