Describes the Dallas district's involvement in desegregation, magnet schools, and the involvement of parents and business in the schools. These efforts should be seen as part of a larger effort at reform and renewal throughout the district. (Author/IRT)

Excerpts are printed from the "Tenth Annual Report to Congress on the Implementation of The Education of the Handicapped Act." Described are legislative goals, number of students served, emphasis on the least restrictive environment, assistance for state/local agencies in educating handicapped children, employment of the disabled, and…

The Atlanta Partnership of Business and Higher Education, Inc. works to harness the resources of business, higher education, governmental, religious, and human-service agencies for the benefit of youth. The programs in Atlanta are successful because they involve sharing of personal attention and time as well as money. (MLW)

Describes a role-playing activity and a youth community service club project which illustrate how citizenship can be learned through experience. Shows how community involvement in educational activities can help convey positive values about society and impart knowledge and skills which help youngsters become productive members of that society.…

Describes school board decisionmaking as a cooperative process that involves all local citizens. Recommends that the following six steps should be adapted to local needs: (1) brainstorm with the public; (2) publicize the results; (3) get reactions; (4) make your decisions; (5) make a commitment to the goals; and (6) publicize the goals. (CJH)

Discusses use of volunteers to augment local government services such as libraries, parks, paralegal aid, elderly care, data processing. Outlines requirements of successful programs and steps toward initiating volunteer programs. Presents case studies of volunteer programs in two Maryland communities and 41 examples of how local governments can…

Describes the efforts of a project which attempted to meet the needs of pupils who have become disaffected with school. Discusses how the participating schools reorganized and worked to strengthen community relationships and to provide new directions in curriculum planning and program assessment and accreditation. (ML)

The past 50 years have witnessed a vast transformation of public education from tens of thousands of relatively independent, "grass roots," citizen-controlled school districts to centrally controlled, massive bureaucracies. Ten recommendations are made which would bring public education back under the control of ordinary citizens. (RM)

Data regarding community participation for 66 school systems enrolling 50,000 or more students show such participation at the local school and districtwide levels for all 66 systems. Sixty-seven percent also report community participation at the decentralized level. (CMG)

Articulates profitable routes to institutional reform for people dissatisfied with the quality of social service provided by the institution of which they are part. Argues that the creation of cultural and institutional democracy requires recognition of clients as constituents, and some elements of participatory decision making, community control,…

A program is described in which Spanish-speaking senior citizens volunteered to meet with first- and second-year language students twice weekly on a one-to-one basis for unstructured conversation. Both students and staff benefited, and results show the practical value of integrating such a conversation lab into the regular foreign language…

Describes the development of the Hispanic Health Council, a research, training, and advocacy organization directed to improving health conditions for the Puerto Rican community of Hartford by providing a base for collaborative research and program development by community residents and anthropologists. (Author/CJM)

The use of volunteer speakers and "guest instructors" is proposed as a means of keeping educational institutions and students in touch with the outside world. (LBH)

Education decentralization requires that substantial information be available to local and regional stakeholders. Increasing transparency, establishing a basis for accountability, and providing tools for effective management at the local level help parents, teachers, and school officials assess school performance and status. Several countries have…

This manual provides a step-by-step methodology for promoting community participation in improving learning in local schools. The Civic Engagement for Education Reform in Central America (CERCA) School Report Card (SRC) approach empowers local school communities to gather information on the quality and conditions of teaching and learning in their…