Improving school climate takes time and commitment from a variety of people in a variety of roles. This document outlines key action steps to engage students in the school climate improvement process. Key action steps are provided for the following strategies: (1) Participate in planning for school climate improvements; (2) Engage stakeholders in…

Stakeholder engagement is a critical component of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). Under the law, states are required to engage specific stakeholders as they develop the consolidated state plan to submit to the U.S. Department of Education. But states should not only engage with their stakeholders because it's required under the law --…

This guide is intended to help states assess the engagement strategies used during the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) development stage, identify the ones to sustain or refine, and develop a long-term plan that will continue to create opportunities for stakeholders to be heard on this and other education issues. The guidance in this document…

As interest in teacher leadership has grown, many leading organizations have developed tools and guidance to support schools, districts, and teacher leaders themselves. For instance, the National Network of State Teachers of the Year developed resources on teacher leader career pathways and advocacy approaches, as well as teacher leader standards.…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) offers states an incredible opportunity to develop or refine a strategic vision for education to chart their own path forward. The new federal law allows education leaders and stakeholders to rethink their own accountability, funding, school improvement and grant-making systems by gathering input from the…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) has drastically changed the federal education landscape for the first time in more than a decade. State education agencies (SEAs) have been granted additional flexibility under the new law but first must establish their state strategic vision and evaluate how the new law will affect their accountability,…

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) asks states to engage with a wide array of stakeholders throughout the development of their plans, encouraging outreach that goes well beyond the organizational leaders with whom the state education agency is most familiar. The purpose behind this outreach is to ensure that the state's ESSA plan truly…

Administrative team management is the best way to provide direction and leadership to an individualistic group of professionals such as educators. Some suggestions to make management teams run smoothly are: (1) use the team to gather facts; (2) make sure the team works with the people (teachers, parents, and business people) who may be affected by…

This booklet explains the concept of a community exchange system (CES), or barter system, for the exchange of goods and services and describes how to set one up. The booklet is concerned only with nonprofit, voluntary organizations. The booklet is organized in four sections. The first section introduces the community exchange systems idea and…

A prototype policy operation manual for the school-based decision-making councils of elementary schools in the school districts of Kentucky is presented in ths document. Guidelines are offered to help the councils adopt policies consistent with the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990, which are based on school improvement and extended ownership.…

This article delineates an organizational systems framework for exploring team utilization possibilities in schools and provides guidelines for deciding when and how teams might be utilized. (Author/PN)

Based on questions asked during an adult education course at Truman College (Chicago), this booklet was designed to be a simple organizing manual for small neighborhood preorder food cooperatives (co-ops). The guide covers basic information for organizing a co-op, definition of a co-op, what jobs are needed, getting the food, wholesale sources,…

Discusses school-based management, explaining what PTAs need to be prepared for discussions about restructuring through school-based management. The article discusses origin of governance, school-based management councils, decision making, and parent-community involvement. (SM)

The second of two volumes on planning parent participation programs, this guide is intended to be an aid in the actual program development. The importance of involving school faculty in the planning is emphasized. A description is provided of a seven-step development process in which the faculty team: (1) states program goals; (2) examines sample…

This paper describes a survey conducted in 1982 by the Rosemount, Minnesota, school district as a model for other districts wishing to obtain reliable information about their communities at low cost. The paper outlines the following information: (1) the objectives of the survey; (2) the district's constraints and resources; (3) preliminary…