This book shows how the school grounds, whether urban, suburban, or rural, can become an enriching extension of the classroom. The author blends theory and practice, providing readers with teacher-tested suggestions and activities for using the outdoors. The book offers step-by-step guidance to help ensure success when teachers take a class…

Psychometric properties are described for an inventory that measures the daily rewards and worries that parents experience as their sons and daughters transition to adulthood. In a series of 4 studies involving 847 respondents, we explored and confirmed the factor structure of the Transition Daily Rewards and Worries Questionnaire (TDRWQ) in a…

During the past several decades, child poverty rates have been higher in rural than in urban areas, and now 2.5 million children live in deep poverty in rural America. Studies indicate that poor children are most affected by the typical "summer slide." Summer programming has the ability to address the issues of academic loss, nutritional…

Infants who are born prematurely may experience developmental delays and impairments during infancy and beyond. Those who are born at extremely low birthweight face the greatest challenges. Many families could benefit from early intervention services through their local Part C of Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs, but…

The process of reforming human services involves a true understanding of the meaning of child-centered, family-focused, community-based services, and the creation of the system that these concepts demand. The concept of "child-centered services" acknowledges that children are entitled to have their basic needs met in a manner that…

The fifth of six volues in a series on the "Making Special Friends Project," a program designed to promote interaction between severely handicapped and nonhandicapped persons in school and community settings, details an approach for developing community resource and accessibility guides. Steps in the process are outlined, including…

The booklet describes the conceptual approach and operation of the evaluation plan used by Project CAST (Community and School Together), a community-ased career education program for handicapped students. Three levels of evaluation are proposed for providing data for both formative and summative evaluation; these levels are: (1) effort evaluation,…

The Urban Arts program uses community resources to bring the arts and artists to the schools and also to send students out to the studio, concert hall, stage, and museum. (Author/IRT)

The use of diaries helps students increase their understanding of everyday life of past historical persons. Using a diary is recommended as a tool for teaching the Bicentennial. One sample diary is examined. (JR)

Describes specific community resources and discusses how they can be used as educational tools. (PMP)

This community home care program for family caregivers is designed to provide information to family caregivers on ways to provide care more easily in the home by making changes in the home, and drawing on resources from outside the home. It provides guidelines for volunteer "hosts," i.e., persons who coordinate and run the course, on how to assist…

This booklet presents ideas based on actions taken by community leaders to recruit new and emerging leaders to join in the improvement of a community. The discussion includes: (1) asking the question "who's not here?" to make sure the community organization is representative; (2) looking for skills, not names to discover leadership…

A screening program at rural and urban Mississippi sites to determine developmental disabilities in young children (birth to 3 years) was carried out by community volunteers who had been trained to administer the Steps-Up screening instrument. Of 244 infants and young children who were screened within a 9 month interval, 76 children were…