Provides an overview of the 1996 EDUCOM annual meeting in Philadelphia (Pennsylvania) that focused on transcending traditional boundaries of information technology. Highlights include the higher education initiative to seek funding and support for Internet II; school-business partnerships; digital libraries; multimedia fair use guidelines;…

Describes efforts by Texas' University of St. Thomas (UST) to respond to growing numbers of Spanish-speaking students. Highlights a collaborative effort between UST, Shell Oil, and Helms Elementary School to create a bilingual school committed to instilling high expectations in students, fostering community identity, and maintaining strong…

Examines the importance of civic education in holding students to higher accountability. Urges teachers to examine the National Standards for Civic Education. Suggests that helping prepare good citizens is a worthy national education goal that requires involvement by the entire community to help educate everyone, but especially children, to be…

One of four articles in the third section, "Reflection: What We Have Learned," this article describes the development of the collaborative between Indiana University Northwest and three urban school districts in Indiana (East Chicago, Gary, and Hammond). This collaborative became the Urban Teacher Education Program and has been operating…

This article discusses urban teacher shortages, the interaction between poverty, ethnicity, and academic performance, and how licensure contributes to poor results in urban schools. Two partnerships between local universities and school districts to address these shortages are described. The need to prepare general and special education teachers…

The Santa Fe Indian School (New Mexico) developed the community-based education model with input from parents, teachers, Elders, and tribal council members in five pueblos. Students in grades 10-12 study community problems related to the environment and develop science, technology, and communications skills. Experiential learning makes this…

Participants in the League of Professional Schools based at the University of Georgia discuss the effects of shared governance, a schoolwide instructional focus, and action research on 22 participating schools from various districts. The article explains factors that facilitated internal change and adjustments the league made in its operating…

A roundtable discussion by 13 educators from 6 school districts participating in the School-Community Connection initiative of the Institute for Responsive Education highlights the problems and successes of implementing programs aimed at community and parent involvement in the schools. Participants clearly advocated bringing community members into…

The Southwestern Indian Polytechnic Institute (SIPI) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, is working towards obtaining accreditation for a two-year Associate of Science Degree in Electronics Engineering. SIPI is a tuition-free vocational-technical training institution, designated in 1993 as a community college. Since 1991 the institute has enforced a…

Discusses the rationale for applying management information systems (MIS's) to contract education programs, depicts an ideal MIS, and describes the MIS currently utilized in California. Suggests that computer-based MISs, such as California's Contract Education Data Inventory System, serve as invaluable aids in organizing and interpreting program…

Discusses trends in workplace literacy and describes environmental literacy, indicating that it includes such areas as reading, writing, mathematics, learning ability, problem solving, self-esteem, teamwork, and organizational effectiveness. Provides a methodology for conducting environmental literacy audits, selecting proper delivery methods,…

In the context of school-university partnerships, action research takes on the qualities of collaborative inquiry for achieving partnership. The article describes one partnership project, explaining the importance of action research and examining two studies conducted by school practitioners and college personnel that show the power of action…

University faculty members, an elementary teacher, and a school psychologist used bookmatching, an innovative form of action research, to help a kindergartner cope with sexual abuse. The project created dramatic breakthroughs in the student's behavior. His classmates all grew in their knowledge of strategies to apply if confronted by abuse. (SM)

Examines school-based management as an effective strategy for optimizing the individual performance of teachers, students, and parents. Under school-based management, principals and teachers are given total responsibility for budgeting, selecting textbooks, scheduling, and hiring. This system provides flexibility in relationships with the broader…

Describes the Urban Partnership Program (UPP), a Ford Foundation educational initiative located in 16 cities nationwide. Indicates that UPP gathers business and civic leaders, educators, community-based organizations, students, and parents to cooperate in developing and funding locally based educational programs. (MAB)