Administrators can structure successful transitions to standards-based curriculum and performance assessment. By thinking about this reform initiative's implications, building opportunities for thoughtful experimentation and dialogue, and anticipating dilemmas teachers might encounter during experimentation, administrators can design responsive…

Discusses educational benefits of the Internet and what schools are doing to integrate technology into the middle- and high-school curriculum. Reviews pitfalls of technology integration, initiation and implementation tips for administrators, program-evaluation strategies, and censorship issues. The Internet brings immediacy and individualization…

Service learning helps students develop skills such as creative problem solving, effective communication, decision making, and information synthesis. A recent report found that service-learning participants scored significantly higher on measures of personal and social responsibility, acceptance of cultural diversity, and service leadership.…

Describes efforts of an Iowa high school principal and a community college tech-prep coordinator to develop a school-to-work program based on working partnerships among the regional education agency, local education agencies, students, parents, community colleges, and businesses. Following development and marketing phases, career maps provided the…

The Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement at the University of Minnesota's College of Education is a collaborative effort seeking to meld academic research outcomes with practitioners' real-life needs. The center is involved with core research projects, training and support for research, collaborative research projects,…

An urban Louisiana school system successfully graduated 23 adult dropouts, awarding them real high school diplomas, thanks to the collaborative efforts of various social service agencies, intensive staff development, and sensitivity to students' economic and affective needs. Although schools cannot solve all the personal problems confronting the…

According to a 2-year study of over 1,500 middle-level classrooms in California and Missouri, most writing programs are not woven into the fabric of middle-school programs, practices, or policies. Programs are couched within the English/language arts curriculum. Four factors affect programs--teacher characteristics, commitment to middle-school…

A graduate student in educational administration at Florida State University reflects on a practicum to develop leadership skills through role-playing activities. Although this student was effective at active listening, eye contact, voice qualities, and information solicitation, word choices were a problem. Feedback from participating principals…

To increase parental involvement, Mount Carmel High School (Poway, California) has adopted strategic-planning change model. Successful strategic plans are connected to school mission and core values, gain staff support, remain open to input from all parties, build trust and rapport among participants, ensure open communication with stakeholders,…

To meet children's needs in today's complex and troubled society, school counselors must clearly and aggressively define their roles and functions. A 1992 Oregon study replicated in Louisiana revealed agreement about three major counselor roles: developmental counseling, crisis intervention counseling, and career counseling. Administrators should…

An accommodation is an adjustment to an activity or setting that equalizes a learning situation for persons with disabilities. Accommodations are required under the anti-discriminatory 1973 Rehabilitation Act (Section 504) and the Americans with Disabilities Act. An accommodation should not alter an assignment's essential purpose. (MLH)

In community schools, youth, families, and community residents work as equal partners with schools and other organizations to develop programs and services in five areas: quality education, youth development, family support, family and community engagement, and community development. Community schools foster strong partnerships and share…

Students who do not respond to well-managed schoolwide discipline programs are less likely to learn than attentive, academically engaged students; they also deprive classmates of learning opportunities. This article describes evolution of the ABC Event Frame, an approach that addresses the academic and social needs of chronically disruptive…

Educators concerned about school safety have resorted to searching students, their lockers, and their possessions. These searches have led to litigation over whether the Fourth Amendment's prohibition of unreasonable searches and seizures applies to public schools. Although courts have upheld reasonable searches, administrators should carefully…

Presque Isle (Maine) High School has offered a section of all-girls algebra for seven years. The intent was to narrow the gap between 11th-grade boys' and girls' math achievement scores and create a more comfortable learning atmosphere for girls. The achievement score gap has decreased from 72 to 16 points. (MLH)