School - Community Relations, Under Reform

Successful Schools and the Community Relationship offers readers an important introduction to a rapidly emerging restora-tion of national interest in the basic unit of education: the individ-ual school and its surrounding neighborhood. This school-site focus has been called The New Localism. This new localism is firmly rooted in the central objective of improving opportunities for student learning and in using the multiple resources of fami-lies and neighborhoods to assist in instructional improvement.
The two sections in this book explore various sources of learning: the research literature, conceptual perspectives, and a set of illustrative cases, which explore leadership dilemmas that will raise questions, that will spark a dialogue or debate over possible solutions, and that will lead into an examination of the extant research literature and conceptual lenses. The authors purpose for this textbook is threefold. First is to provide a careful review of today s knowledge base in the very complex arena of relationships between schools and their sur-rounding communities. The second purpose of this book is to provide a readily understandable and professionally useful set of alternative theoretical models and concepts for interpreting and implementing strengthened school-community relationships. The third purpose is to provide the next generation of educators with key practical insights, tools, and understandings for using and involving the community to improve learning. The text will be used by graduate students in educational policy and administration, and will be an important resource for local school administrators, persons engaged in community-development activities, policymakers in education, and schol-ars with an interest in school-community relations.

CONTENTS
SECTION I: THE CONTEXT OF SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONS

1. Leadership Issues, Constraints, and Challenges in Com-munity Engagement.
2. Evolving Understandings of the Community Relationship.
3. Models and Theories of the Community Context.
4. Changing Expectations for Leadership in the School-Community Relationship.
5. Current Policy Issues in the Community Relationship.

SECTION II: THE PRACTICE OF IMPROVING COMMUNITY RELATIONS

6. Leading and Guiding Parent Involvement.
7. Using Communities as Instructional Resources.
8. Improving School-Community Relations Through Children's Services Coordination.
9. Generating Capacity for Learning in the Community Rela-tionship.
10. Building Trust and Generating Social Capital.
11. Leading the Community Relationship at the District Level.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Robert L. Crowson, is a Professor of Education and Policy with the Department of Leadership, Policy, and Organizations, Peabody College, Vanderbilt University. , at Peabody College, Vanderbilt University.