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…

This handbook is designed to share successful, creative ideas and proven methods for fund raising at the elementary school level. Suggestions are based on the author's personal experience as a PTA fund raiser and on interviews conducted nationwide with people involved in fund raising. Following the acknowledgements and preface, the introduction…

Ways to improve the parent school relationship are suggested. Discussion of recommendations of "A Nation at Risk," the report of the National Commission on Excellence in Education, concerning computer use in schools, discipline, homework, and leadership and fiscal support is followed by a brief exploration of ways educators can enlist public…

This report on the attitudes toward Girl Scouting and minority participation in Girl Scouting is based on the results of the Girl Scout Internal Survey and a telephone survey of the general public conducted by the Roper Organization. A stratified sampling technique was used to select Girl Scout members, affiliated adults, and non-members for the…

Author discusses the results of recent research on the phenomena of community power structure. (GB)

Two overarching tasks face school public relations directors. These tasks are gaining public support for education and fostering understanding and acceptance of the professions of school public relations. Both are difficult. Schools today suffer from a lack of public confidence. School public relations suffers from a lack of understanding by the…

WHILE THE MAJOR PURPOSE WAS TO EXPLORE THE SIGNIFICANCE OF COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION FOR SCHOOL SUPPORT, A SECONDARY PURPOSE WAS TO DEMONSTRATE THE PRACTICAL SIGNIFICANCE OF SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY AND THE SURVEY RESEARCH TECHNIQUE TO EDUCATIONAL PROBLEMS. SOME OF THE FINDINGS WERE AS FOLLOWS. THE LEVEL OF SUPPORT WHICH A COMMUNITY ACCORDS ITS SCHOOLS IS…

The goal of this panel was to generate scientific knowledge on how the organizational, administrative, physical, personal, and social aspects of the classroom, school, district, and community support instructional personnel in reaching educational goals. A matrix was developed using locational variables (within school and outside school) and…