In a pioneering venture, a 90-minute satellite program will be aired at ASCD's 1993 Annual Conference in Washington, D.C., and also made available, free of charge, to registered downlink sites around the country. The program, which is underwritten by the Rockefeller Foundation, will feature the work of James Comer, director of the School Development Program at the Yale Child Study Center. The "Comer Process" helps schools foster good relationships among students, teachers, and parents, so all can bond with the program of the school and solve problems collaboratively. The program will air Monday, March 29, 1993, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time.
Audience members will be able to use an "800" number to phone in questions for Comer and others on the program. Appearing with Comer will be administrators, teachers, students, and parents who have had experience using the Comer Process. Interspersed with live discussions will be videotaped scenes showing the Comer Process in action.
Gene Carter, ASCD's executive director, worked with the Comer Process in his former role as superintendent of the Norfolk (Va.) public schools. "Collaborative school-based teams were creating healthy, exciting environments in Comer schools back in 1968, long before school-based management became a buzzword," Carter says. "Since then, his School Development Program has spread to more than 250 schools in 19 states and the District of Columbia."
To participate in this free teleconference, your institution needs a C-Band or Ku-Band satellite downlink, facilities at which to view and/or tape the event, and a closed-line telephone. (Registered sites may make one recording of this program, for noncommercial purposes only.) Registered sites will receive a "Site Coordinator's Handbook" that includes tuning instructions.
For more information or to register, write Beth Schweinefuss, ASCD, 1250 N. Pitt St., Alexandria, VA 22314; or phone (703) 549-9110, ext. 311 (Beth) or 322 (Vickie). Or send a fax to Beth at (703) 549-3891. The deadline for registering is March 22, 1993.
For those who would like to know more about Comer's work, a 14-part videotape series, "For Children's Sake: The Comer School Development Program," produced by the Rockefeller Foundation and the Yale Child Study Center, is available for purchase. For more information or to order, call 1-800-822-1105 and ask for Operator 37.