This article describes the 1st-year evaluation of a community-wide parent and family involvement program initiated in a midsized Southeast community and school district. The program consists of three major components: community-wide efforts, school-home communication, and home involvement. Formative and summative evaluation data were gathered…

This article examines the characteristics and influences of boundary-spanning leadership in university-school-community partnership contexts. To gain a clear understanding of the diffuse literature in this area, over 60 related articles and books were reviewed; common themes were identified; and emergent connections were drawn. The most common…

Students with disabilities face many barriers that cause them to be less successful than they could be. Virtual mentoring provides opportunities for employers in the community to act as mentors to the students, thereby enhancing community ties and creating positive public relations. This article explores the ways that a group electronic mentoring…

After a failed tax levy in 2004, the Ladue School District in Missouri realized that it had to significantly change its communication methods. A new superintendent was hired in July 2004 to work with the Board of Education to reestablish relationships and increase effective communications with parents and community members. As such, we are the…

Authentic political conversation entails identifying the work, bringing together stakeholders, providing information, framing questions, giving individuals a voice, being transparent, and acting on the values of the group's collective good. Through this process, we identify common core values and respond to the basic human need to be connected--to…