Local school boards have traditionally carried most of the responsibility for providing public education. But now, as a result of a complex set of economic and demographic factors, new schemes are needed for providing education, such as the consolidation of small districts into ever-larger ones. (KH)

This paper examines the economic impact of Walker Technical Institute (WTI) in Georgia on its local economy. In 1994, the annual report by Georgia's Department of Technical and Adult Education found a 77% increase from 1985 in the number of students participating in classes. State financial support for the Department of Technical and Adult…

This report, conducted by faculty and students in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas, describes a survey on and interviews regarding ethnic and race relations among Austin, Texas residents and community leaders. Its six chapters include (1) "Introduction" (the research approach); (2) "Ethnic…

Architecture as social action is discussed with the challenge being to find ways to make skills sensitive and responsive to local contexts and permit architecture to assume its appropriate form. Some techniques discussed are: storefront offices, architectural clinics, planning councils, mapping and gaming. (MLW)

Presents 10 ideas for service learning projects designed for elementary schools. Includes having students do local history projects complete with interviews and artifacts, learn about community volunteering, interact with the elderly, care for the environment, recycle materials, and hold canned food drives. (MJP)

Presents low cost ways that elementary teachers can develop classroom and school museums. Using objects and documents to record and display community events and traditions can help foster commitments to civic institutions and positive social values. Recommends creating wall murals, life ropes (personal event chronology), wall newspapers, and…

Describes the efforts of teachers and parents to open a charter school in Denver, which is being vigorously blocked by the school board. Discusses the pros (offer nontraditional teaching methods and institutional autonomy) and cons (drain public funds from poor schools) of charter schools. (LMI)

In this article, the authors describe the development of a pilot project called Writing Zones 12.5. Writing Zones 12.5 was created to help students find strategies for solving writing problems and help them become better writers at every stage of the writing process. The project touches on five of the nine principles that Center for Higher…

Following two-failed school bond issues in 1995 and 1998, one mid-sized rural school district organized an effort that led to two successful school bond elections in 2001 and 2003. The school district's strategic plan mirrored many of the recommendations for successful bond referendums published in School Bond Success: A Strategy for Building…

The "drop-out" of working-class students from universities has been identified as one of the most pressing issues for the higher education (HE) sector in the United Kingdom. This article draws on the initial findings of a major research project that explores the meanings and implications of such withdrawal from HE amongst young…

This paper reports on the progress of eight Chicago-based community initiatives designed to redefine social services and broaden social responsibility for the development of children and families. The paper has three sections describing: (1) general background on the children, youth, and families initiative; (2) early lessons from an initiative in…

What issues do distance education (DE) leaders believe will influence the future of DE? What are their colleges' DE strategies? This qualitative study compares DE strategic thinking and strategic choices at three community colleges. Two propositions are investigated: (1) each college's DE leaders use common strategic mental models (ways of…

Using data produced by a 1987 national survey of approximately 2,400 rural school board presidents, district superintendents, principals, and teachers, this report focuses on special concerns and strengths revealed by 351 respondents from rural, small schools in 7 Northeastern states (Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York,…

This is a report on government-funded kindergarten programs that were conducted in 1983-84 in more than 110 Chicago schools, most of them in poverty areas. Three funding sources and various instructional models are included in this assessment. The programs differed in format, including half day and all day programs, and in class size. Funds came…

The best response to this period of retrenchment and lack of support for education is more aggressive political activity at the state and local levels. The key to success is building coalitions among educational interest groups and potential allies in other services. Although the federal government greatly expanded its support of education in the…