General guidelines to develop community support of children's programs are presented within a conceptual framework. General design features include planning, development, and implementation. Specific tasks are identified and a planning guide is provided. (Author/DB)

Describes a community volunteer program developed at Mt. Hood Community College (Oregon) in which community members are trained as neighborhood representatives to provide information about the school, answer questions, and refer problems and complaints to the appropriate places on campus. (AYC)

In Amish society, individuals can face death confidently, knowing that they will be able to live out their days at home, surrounded by loved ones who will help them to plan and organize their own deaths. (Author/WI)

A Waconia, Minnesota superintendent involved in constructing a new high school found that designing a successful music suite depended on building community support, understanding the music suite's special needs, and managing compromise and communication. A participative planning process allowed considerable input on decisions concerning acoustics,…

Describes a case study of a rural school district in which conflicting superintendent, school board, and community values led to the superintendent's dismissal, which led to the defeat of the board members. Analyzes the course of events in terms of the dissatisfaction theory of democracy. (FMW)

Describes organization and outcomes of an activity that raised funds for the Green Bay Day Nursery in Wisconsin. (RJC)

Describes the Salome Urena de Henriquez Intermediate School 218 in Manhattan, New York. The school is organized into five academies and includes a health and dental clinic, an extended-day program, a community-based steering committee, and appropriate inclusion of all children. Salome Urena opened in partnership with Children's Aid Society. (CC)

Openness and accessibility were once the hallmarks of U.S. public schools. Civic and governmental agencies held meetings in the schools, and families and community groups came together at schools their children attended. Now that 75 percent of all taxpayers have no children in school, it is essential that school districts stop overprotecting…

Provides an overview of marketing efforts of the Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County. Examples of a marketing plan that stresses fostering relationships with the community are described, including staff training in customer service, a cultural festival, and services to the business community. A sidebar offers marketing tips for…

Presents some examples of how reading education and the community can come together. Divides the presentation into two types of community involvement: bringing the community into the schools and integrating classrooms into the community. (MG)

Identifies 20 ways to enable families to be involved in education, help teachers and schools build family involvement, mobilize community support for schools and families, and share information about effective methods. (SK)

Notes that adoptive families have formal (agency-related) and informal (indigenous) resources to draw on for assistance with a variety of issues. Describes Hope for the Children (HFTC) program located in Rantoul, Illinois, a created community designed to foster permanence of special-needs adoptions, in which adoptive families live alongside agency…

Explores the extent to which use of mediation contributes to community involvement in child welfare. Describes a model of mediation used in four Canadian cities; discusses whether mediation enhances community involvement; and compares mediation with other child-protection processes. Provides a case example illustrating ways communities can become…

Discusses issues that affect school library media specialists and provides Web sites that are helpful in presenting and discussing these issues. Highlights include who our learners are in elementary and secondary schools; what they need to learn; how to get community support; and whether media specialists make a difference. (LRW)

According to a former community relations director for a Washington State district, there are three key elements of effective public engagement: choosing a focus, acknowledging that employees are a school system's first public, and using feedback loops. Employees are school ambassadors whose words and actions can either build community support or…