The author, who is the President of Miami-Dade Community College (MDCC), Florida, argues that the fundamental purpose of MDCC is to preserve democracy. MDCCs open-door policy makes it possible for those who might otherwise be excluded from higher education to gain a college education, which then makes it possible for them to become active,…

This study, the second of 2 conducted by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) on the governance of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) program, describes the growth and development of collaborative decision-making in 4 of the initial grantee communities after 2 years of funding. IEL's first report asked the original 99…

In this issue, we explore how community partnerships to support formal learning and development matter and how they can be created and sustained. In "Research Update," we discuss the results of a new report and poll on 21st century skills that affirms that every student needs a "basics plus" education that pushes beyond core academic knowledge to…

The 11 chapters in this book describe successful innovative programs of service learning at the undergraduate level. Emphasis is on how different kinds of institutions, facing different internal and external circumstances, have made service-learning an institutional asset. The chapters are: (1) "Introduction: A New Model of Excellence" (Edward…

This report addresses university outreach efforts at Michigan State University (MSU) and sets out strategic directions for strengthening such efforts. The report focuses on three messages: (1) that faculty, staff, and students are engaged in a significant amount of outreach, although these activities may not always be so labeled; (2) that outreach…

This paper describes Project SUCCEED (School University Community Coalition for Excellence in Education). The coalition includes the University of Miami School of Education, the University of Miami College of Arts and Sciences, Miami-Dade County Public Schools, and the Miami Museum of Science. The goal is to provide a comprehensive approach to…

This document is comprised of summaries of six papers presented at a symposium on the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Initiative, a federal grant to school districts intended to promote health and safety in schools and communities. The Initiative was designed to confront school violence, safety, and mental health needs through the provision of a…

This paper describes an innovative interdisciplinary course offered at the University of New Orleans (Louisiana) which involved community members as full-fledged partners with students and university faculty in service-learning-by-doing teams. Each student, with the assistance of a faculty member and a community partner, identified an opportunity…

This study examines the importance of structured reflection in service-learning courses. The study consisted of interviews with 15 faculty and 72 students from three different higher education institutions; interviews were conducted between October 1998 and March 1999. Focus group interviews with faculty gathered information about course design,…

This paper describes a multi-year evaluation of the Extended-Service Schools (ESS) Adaptation Initiative, sharing what has been learned about opening up schools and initiating collaborative school-based programs in poor communities during hours that school is not in session. The ESS included four unique school-community collaborative models. This…

This paper presents a model of community scholarship. Community scholarship is defined as the products that result from the active, systematic engagement of academics with communities for such purposes as addressing a community need, studying community problems and issues, and engaging in the development of projects that build health. The paper…

Camp HELP (Handicapped Experiential Learning Program) at Jacksonville State University (Alabama) offers educational, psychological, and behavioral therapeutic play services, through university students of physical and special education, to multihandicapped children from the community. Activities, facilities, and staffing for the summer day camp…

The continuing public interest in community use of school facilities was affirmed by the North Carolina Court of Appeals' unanimous decision in the case of "Kiddie Korner et. al. v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg" in favor of the school board's involvement in enrichment programs after the regular school day. (MLF)

Lawrence Hall of Science at the University of California at Berkeley, which conducts preservice and in-service teacher training programs and develops curriculums in science and mathematics, is devoting increasing attention to the role of science centers in informal education. Examples of the Hall's research projects in many different fields are…

The authors describe a nonformal adult vocational education program developed in Rio Grande do Sul, a rural Brazilian state, which offers in-school vocational education as well as adult continuing education. Truck trailers with vocational equipment and trained personnel visit rural communities to provide learning experiences both in and out of the…