Describes the student mediator program developed at the William E. Ferron Elementary School (Nevada). Since the program began, the number of discipline problems referred to the principal has declined. Includes a sidebar outlining the steps used for orientation of mediators. (MD)

About 1,300 school students in Round Rock (Texas) Independent School District attend redesigned summer school program that provides intensive interventions in reading and math for students functioning below grade-level standards. Most take reading and math on alternate four-hour days for six weeks in classes with 15:1 student/teacher ratio.…

Project learning, with community and school staff assistance, helped a fifth-grade class transform the school lunchroom and their own behavior. A $2,500 Alcoa grant spearheaded an Italian restaurant project. Children served on five committees: public relations and advertising, management, art and design, planning and budgeting, and research. The…

With their principal's support, nine teachers at a Colorado elementary school developed a voluntary peer-appraisal process. The group met socially throughout the year to build trusting relationships, address process concerns, and explore learning possibilities. The first group of evaluated teachers provided valuable feedback and gained great…

For nearly 20 years, a Delaware school district has been building and evaluating an inclusive classroom model, Team Approach to Mastery. Resource rooms were gradually eliminated, and disabled students were educated alongside their nondisabled classmates. Mainstreaming strategies included team teaching, learning centers, ego groups (to develop…

Describes a New York City art teacher's successful efforts to encourage interracial harmony by having students transform the mayor's "human mosaic" campaign rhetoric into physical reality. Participation in the project begins with classroom discussions on ethnic groups and ends with a unity-through-diversity mosaic of 250 student-painted…

An Illinois elementary school principal realized that the district's "yellow tablet" teacher-evaluation system was not working. In lieu of observations by the principal, teachers agreed to visit one another, sometimes in teams, and the principal volunteered to substitute for observing teachers. The new process demolished barriers between…

Outlines a four-step grading system to help teachers implement standards-based education. Teachers should design a workable format; define three sets of codes (for assessment types, performance levels, and time periods); create a grade book with easily accessible student grade sheets; and monitor and adjust the process. (MLH)

A model for change is currently being tested in a collaborative effort between a national research center and a large school district: the Research and Development Center for Teacher Education at the University of Texas at Austin and the Jefferson County, Colorado, Public School District. (Author/MLF)

Controversy rages over whole-language/phonics approaches to reading instruction, giving critics great school-bashing opportunities. Districts that have successfully incorporated whole language generally have planned for change, involved parents, proceeded slowly, built in ongoing professional development, provided adequate resources, reassured…

A successful effort to raise reading achievement in the Denver schools illustrates key factors in educational change. (Author)

Faculty members of a St. Louis, Missouri, pre-K-6 school studied Harold Gardner's theories on multiple intelligences in "Frames of Mind" (1983) and developed a program based on 7 learning modalities. Although implementation varies by classroom, teachers are using all seven intelligences in designing instruction, and a faculty subgroup is…

Describes a research project in a third-grade classroom that explored a spontaneous, bottom-up approach to developing and testing performance measures. After establishing project goals for reading and math instruction, the 14 participating teachers worked with University of Colorado researchers to develop summarizing activities, open-ended math…

Describes the approach used by one school district for increasing parent involvement in the schools and improving community understanding and support of school personnel and programs. (JG)

Describes a program of educational improvement wherein the community and teacher interacted to save precious time in the classroom and enhanced the relationship of parents and educators. (RK)