Other School Improvement Resources CLE reviews lots of resources developed by other groups also committed to quality education for all students. We are glad to include some of these in our catalog as a convenience to our readers. Public Agenda, a nonprofit, nonpartisan public opinion research organization, listens well to the American public, students and teachers about education. Media stories about its reports fail to catch all of the provocative, interesting details gleaned from its polling and focus groups. You will find much to think and talk about in its recent reports: Getting By: What American Teenagers Really Think About Their Schools Jean Johnson and Steve Farkas, 56pp. (1997). $10 single copy. High school students tell what would motivate them to work harder in school and how they would define "good" and "bad" teaching. They tell what they feel about teachers, their schools and their peers. Special sections describe responses from African-American and Hispanic students.   Given the Circumstances: Teachers Talk About Public Education Today Steve Farkas and Jean Johnson, 50 pp. (1996). $10 single copy. This report tells of the views of public school teachers on how schools are performing, what children need to learn, and what schools need in order to be effective. It breaks out the opinions of African-American and Hispanic teachers.   Assignment Incomplete: The Unfinished Business of Education Reform Jean Johnson, 46 pp. (1995). $10 single copy. This examines why public support for public schools is in jeopardy, why Americans are so concerned with the basics, whether people really are committed to higher standards, and whether they value education.   First Things First: What Americans Expect from the Public Schools Jean Johnson and John Immerwahr, 56pp., (1994). $10 single copy. This report looks at public attitudes toward values issues in the schools and towards education reform efforts. It reports the views of African-American and white parents as well as those identified as traditional Christians.   Helping Dreams Survive: The Story of a Project Involving African-American Families in the Education of Their Children Jocelyn A. Garlington, National Committee for Citizens in Education, 166pp. (1991). $15 single copy. Now only $10. The National Committee for Citizens in Education is no more, but one of its most important publications is a part of the CLE School Improvement Catalog because it is a detailed, wonderfully written case study of life and work with inner-city families. Its lessons are eternal. The report documents more than three years of effort to organize low-income families in downtown Baltimore. It describes what it takes, what to expect and what not to expect when bringing schools and communities closer together.   The "Hard-to-Reach" Parent: Old Challenges, New Insights Renee White-Clark and Larry E. Decker, National Community Education Association, 54 pp. (1996). $11.95 single copy. We know CLE's network finds this publication helpful. It is one of the most popular items we have carried in our catalog. It identifies positive, inclusive and specific strategies educators can use to involve families who are sometimes viewed as hard to reach. It disproves the excuse that families struggling to survive won't be interested in closer contacts with schools. They have to be asked the right way and given the right opportunities. This report tells how to do it.   Building Communities from the Inside Out: A Path Toward Finding and Mobilizing Community Assets John P. Kretzman and John L. McKnight, Asset-Based Community Development Institute, 376pp. (1993), softcover. $20 single copy. This is a detailed and extensive manual on how to tap into the assets of low-income communities. It has many uses for many people. Educators will learn from its discussion of the capacities of youth and the role of schools in community renewal. Those trying to connect low-income youth to work opportunities will appreciate its chapters on building the community economy. The manual includes contact names and numbers and identifies steps for community building based on assets and skills already there.   Community Schools: Linking Home, School & Community Larry E. Decker and Mary Richardson Boo, National Community Education Association, 30 pp. Softcover (1996). ISBN 0-93088-15-1 $2.95 each. Do the community's children need health and nutrition services? Do families need support from community agencies? Do adults in the community need literacy training or training for job skills? Learn how community education can be an inexpensive process for improving schools and building effective communities. A clear and concise overview of community schools for community leaders, policy makers and education advocates.