Every student deserves an education that prepares him or her for lifelong learning, success in the world of work, and participation in representative government. Unfortunately, far too many students are not receiving the high-quality educational experiences needed to help them reach these goals. Meaningful progress toward equity in education does…

Learning in and through the arts helps develop the essential knowledge, skills and creative capacities all students need to succeed in school, work and life. As building-level leaders, school principals play a key role in ensuring every student has access to high-quality and equitable arts learning as part of a well-rounded education. This guide…

This guidebook provides an introduction to Instructional Improvement Systems (IIS) for State education agency (SEA) managers and program leads. Functional components of a theoretical IIS model are discussed and used as a reference point for the introduction a seven-step planning and implementation cycle designed to guide SEAs in the development of…

Learning in and through the arts develops the essential knowledge, skills, and creative capacities all students need to succeed in school, work, and life. As the top building-level leaders, school principals play a key role in ensuring every student receives a high-quality arts education as part of a complete education. In a time of shrinking…

The zero-based budgeting approach is designed to achieve the greatest benefit with the fewest undesirable consequences. Seven basic steps make up the zero-based decision-making process: (1) identifying program goals, (2) classifying goals, (3) identifying resources, (4) reviewing consequences, (5) developing decision packages, (6) implementing a…

Schools and school systems will improve their chances of making a good choice of school reform program if they determine: (1) the program's goals and objectives; (2) the program's research base; and (3) the resources, in terms of money and human effort, required to make the program work. (SLD)

An educational platform, or philosophy, serves as a guide to administrative actions. Issues to be considered include aims of education, expectations for students, social significance of schooling, organizational climate, teachers' roles, student teacher relationships, and characteristics of students. (MLF)

These educational guidelines and procedures were developed after extensive review of current education programs for the Sac and Fox Nations of Oklahoma. The guidelines, prepared by a committee of local educators appointed by a tribal business committee, examined the anticipated needs for future generations of the Sac and Fox people. The document…

To help school boards, educators, and citizens in Connecticut do more comprehensive district planning, this handbook introduces the planning, evaluation, and resource management (PERM) model and describes how it works. Section 1 of the document gives an overview of the planning process, defines comprehensive planning, and answers general questions…

This primer introduces the basics of Program Management and Budgeting (PMB) in an effort to demonstrate how PMB can benefit school systems. Short quotes from previous publications on the topic are paired with cartoons designed to clarify the purposes and workings of the program. The publication begins by defining PMB as an alternative financial…

The Board of Education and the administration of the District of Columbia Public Schools cooperated to compose a five-year plan for the 1983-87 school years. Long range and intermediate objectives of the plan are described and the offices accountable for them are indicated. The program for the 1986-87 school year is extracted from those…

The administration of the District of Columbia Public Schools has developed a plan for coping with the issues of the 1985-86 school year and achieving long range objectives for the period 1983-87. An outline of the 29 steps of the planning process explaining the input of each relevant division and office, togetyher with a timelines chart, is…

To determine what lies ahead for a school system and to be ready for it, school board members need to plan, this paper maintains. The author makes suggestions for several components of planning, including goal setting and developing priorities for facility use, staffing, programs, and services. The importance of the school district budget and…

In view of increasing financial pressures, this paper argues that a new approach to fiscal policy and to the structure of the financial relationship between state government and institutions of higher education is needed. A proposed three-part budget would include the following: (1) a base or core lump-sum budget managed by higher education…

Materials are provided for a 2- to 3-day workshop for different school constituencies to establish direction, focus, and long-range goals for a school system. The workshop is also intended to help clarify and foster a working relationship between the board of education and the administrative staff that will include definition of individual roles…