Small Schools, Education, and the Importance of Community PDF Download

Author: Tim L. Adsit
Publisher: R&L Education
ISBN: 1610480147
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 211

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Book Description
Small Schools, Education, and the Importance of Community focuses on three successful approaches for using the school as a catalyst for community development and revitalization, particularly in rural areas. The strategies also work well in suburban and urban areas. The three approaches described include: leadership by K-12 teachers, administrators, and school boards, particularly in the areas of developing schools as community centers, community as curriculum, and school-based economic development. Succesful case studies are also included.

Author: Anthony Bryk
Publisher: Russell Sage Foundation
ISBN: 161044096X
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 238

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Book Description
Most Americans agree on the necessity of education reform, but there is little consensus about how this goal might be achieved. The rhetoric of standards and vouchers has occupied center stage, polarizing public opinion and affording little room for reflection on the intangible conditions that make for good schools. Trust in Schools engages this debate with a compelling examination of the importance of social relationships in the successful implementation of school reform. Over the course of three years, Bryk and Schneider, together with a diverse team of other researchers and school practitioners, studied reform in twelve Chicago elementary schools. Each school was undergoing extensive reorganization in response to the Chicago School Reform Act of 1988, which called for greater involvement of parents and local community leaders in their neighborhood schools. Drawing on years longitudinal survey and achievement data, as well as in-depth interviews with principals, teachers, parents, and local community leaders, the authors develop a thorough account of how effective social relationships—which they term relational trust—can serve as a prime resource for school improvement. Using case studies of the network of relationships that make up the school community, Bryk and Schneider examine how the myriad social exchanges that make up daily life in a school community generate, or fail to generate, a successful educational environment. The personal dynamics among teachers, students, and their parents, for example, influence whether students regularly attend school and sustain their efforts in the difficult task of learning. In schools characterized by high relational trust, educators were more likely to experiment with new practices and work together with parents to advance improvements. As a result, these schools were also more likely to demonstrate marked gains in student learning. In contrast, schools with weak trust relations saw virtually no improvement in their reading or mathematics scores. Trust in Schools demonstrates convincingly that the quality of social relationships operating in and around schools is central to their functioning, and strongly predicts positive student outcomes. This book offer insights into how trust can be built and sustained in school communities, and identifies some features of public school systems that can impede such development. Bryk and Schneider show how a broad base of trust across a school community can provide a critical resource as education professional and parents embark on major school reforms. A Volume in the American Sociological Association's Rose Series in Sociology

Author: Fiona Carnie
Publisher: Psychology Press
ISBN: 0415248175
Category : Alternative education
Languages : en
Pages : 208

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Book Description
This book is designed to give parents and teachers information on the alternative education options available in the UK. It covers three main areas: Outside the state system: small schools; Steiner Waldorf schools; Montessori schools; democratic schools and other schools with alternative philosophies Doing it yourself: setting up a small school or learning centre; educating at home; flexible schooling Alternatives within the state system: how some state schools are finding different ways of working The values, philosophies and methods of each alternative are described, including the first-hand experiences and accounts of children, teachers and parents. There are answers to common questions and useful sources of further information. This accessible and informative book is the ideal introduction for parents deciding how best to educate their children. It will be of interest to teachers looking to build their knowledge of different education philosophies.

Author: JoAnne Ferrara
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1475831420
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 221

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Book Description
Ferrara and Jacobson go inside community schools across the country to explore the different roles that make this collaborative education reform work. This book provides practitioners, policymakers, family members, youth, and local leaders a greater understanding of the different roles that make up a community school and tools for action. Built on years of practice, research, and continuous improvement, community schools are an innovative, effective, and grassroots strategy for bringing schools and communities together in order to improve outcomes for students, families, and communities. This education reform is growing as school site, local, and state leaders seek collaborative solutions to our schools’ most persistent challenges. The contributors, experts in the field, represent a diverse group of people with longstanding commitments to the community school strategy. From principals to family members, from community partners to teachers, this book illustrates how together, we all have a part to play in the development of successful community schools.

Author: Kronick, Robert F.
Publisher: IGI Global
ISBN: 1799802825
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
University involvement within their communities and the promotion of engaged scholarship is essential for the success of the learning institution as well as for providing students with opportunities to interact with various leadership roles and hands-on interactions with the communities themselves. Community schools employ strategic partnerships to expand the boundaries of school improvements and to increase the direct benefits gained by the community. Emerging Perspectives on Community Schools and the Engaged University is an essential research publication that explores the importance of civic engagement in various school settings, but especially in higher education settings. Featuring a wide range of topics such as service learning, charter schools, and democracy, this book is ideal for community organizers, superintendents, directors, provosts, chancellors, education practitioners, academicians, administrators, researchers, and education policymakers.

Author: Anthony S. Bryk
Publisher: University of Chicago Press
ISBN: 0226078019
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 328

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Book Description
In 1988, the Chicago public school system decentralized, granting parents and communities significant resources and authority to reform their schools in dramatic ways. To track the effects of this bold experiment, the authors of Organizing Schools for Improvement collected a wealth of data on elementary schools in Chicago. Over a seven-year period they identified one hundred elementary schools that had substantially improved—and one hundred that had not. What did the successful schools do to accelerate student learning? The authors of this illuminating book identify a comprehensive set of practices and conditions that were key factors for improvement, including school leadership, the professional capacity of the faculty and staff, and a student-centered learning climate. In addition, they analyze the impact of social dynamics, including crime, critically examining the inextricable link between schools and their communities. Putting their data onto a more human scale, they also chronicle the stories of two neighboring schools with very different trajectories. The lessons gleaned from this groundbreaking study will be invaluable for anyone involved with urban education.

Author: Institute of Medicine
Publisher: National Academies Press
ISBN: 0309084350
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 303

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Book Description
When it comes to motivating people to learn, disadvantaged urban adolescents are usually perceived as a hard sell. Yet, in a recent MetLife survey, 89 percent of the low-income students claimed "I really want to learn" applied to them. What is it about the school environmentâ€"pedagogy, curriculum, climate, organizationâ€"that encourages or discourages engagement in school activities? How do peers, family, and community affect adolescents' attitudes towards learning? Engaging Schools reviews current research on what shapes adolescents' school engagement and motivation to learnâ€"including new findings on students' sense of belongingâ€"and looks at ways these can be used to reform urban high schools. This book discusses what changes hold the greatest promise for increasing students' motivation to learn in these schools. It looks at various approaches to reform through different methods of instruction and assessment, adjustments in school size, vocational teaching, and other key areas. Examples of innovative schools, classrooms, and out-of-school programs that have proved successful in getting high school kids excited about learning are also included.

Author: Sam Redding
Publisher:
ISBN: 9780971007703
Category : Community and school
Languages : en
Pages : 344

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Book Description
Commemorating the first 10 years of publication of the School Community Journal, this book presents a collection of articles from those 10 years and reflects its diverse contents. The articles are: (1) "The Community of the School" (Sam Redding); (2) "How My Immigrant Experience Shaped My Work with Families and Schools" (Dorothy Rich); (3) "The Politics of Virtue: A New Compact for Leadership in Schools" (Thomas J. Sergiovanni); (4) "The Impact of Race on School Change Teams" (Alison A. Carr-Chellman); (5) "In Search of the Elusive Magic Bullet: Parental Involvement and Student Outcomes" (Kim O. Yap and Donald Y. Enoki); (6) "Childhood: Our Children's Voices" (Frances K. Kochan); (7) "Our 'Changing' Town, Our 'Changing' School: Is Common Ground about 'Good' Classroom Practices Possible?" (Jean L. Konzal); (8) "Recommendations for Research on the Effectiveness of School, Family, and Community Partnerships" (Nancy Feyl Chavkin); (9) "Building a Learning Community through Teacher Action Research: Honoring Teacher Wisdom in Three Chicago Public Schools" (Norman Weston); (10) "Proactive Thoughts on Creating Safe Schools" (Constance M. Perry); (11) "Community-Based Education" (Christine J. Villani and Douglas Atkins); (12) "Improving Parent Involvement Programs and Practice: A Qualitative Study of Parent Perceptions" (Amy J. L. Baker); (13) "Improving Parent Involvement Programs and Practice: A Qualitative Study of Teacher Perceptions" (Amy J. L. Baker); (14) "The Peabody Family Involvement Initiative: Preparing Preservice Teachers for Family/School Collaboration" (Laurie Katz and Jerold P. Bauch); (15) "Parents' Educational Beliefs: Implications for Parent Participation in School Reforms" (Lee Shumow); (16) "Parent Involvement: The Key to Improved Student Achievement" (Steven R. Hara and Daniel J. Burke); (17) "Family-School Partnerships in Prekindergarten At-Risk Programs: An Exploratory Study" (Brent A. McBride, Ji-Hi Bae, and Thomas R. Range); (18) "Parent Involvement in American Public Schools: A Historic Perspective 1642-2000" (Diana Hiatt-Michael); (19) "Relationship, The Fourth 'R': The Development of a Classroom Community" (Nancy Meltzoff); (20) "Minimal Parental Involvement" (David J. Dwyer and Jeffrey B. Hecht); (21) "Family Programs for Academic Learning" (Herbert J. Walberg and Trudy Wallace); (22) "Connecting Families and Schools through Mediating Structures" (Vivian R. Johnson); (23) "Creating a Community of Readers" (Paul J. Baker and R. Kay Moss); and (24) "Someone's Most Precious Darling: Building the Home-School Connection in Preservice Teacher Education Programs" (Brenda Power and Constance M. Perry). All but one article contain references. (KB)

Author: Joy Dryfoos
Publisher: Jossey-Bass
ISBN: 9780787940645
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 0

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Book Description
Full-Service Schools describes the movement to create an array of integrated support services in schools. It examines the declining welfare of many American families and prescribes solutions for the problems of increased sex, drugs, violence, and stress among youth.

Author: Zaretta Hammond
Publisher: Corwin Press
ISBN: 1483308022
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 290

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Book Description
A bold, brain-based teaching approach to culturally responsive instruction To close the achievement gap, diverse classrooms need a proven framework for optimizing student engagement. Culturally responsive instruction has shown promise, but many teachers have struggled with its implementation—until now. In this book, Zaretta Hammond draws on cutting-edge neuroscience research to offer an innovative approach for designing and implementing brain-compatible culturally responsive instruction. The book includes: Information on how one’s culture programs the brain to process data and affects learning relationships Ten “key moves” to build students’ learner operating systems and prepare them to become independent learners Prompts for action and valuable self-reflection