In 1969, the New York City school decentralization law divided the city school system into 31 (later 32) community school districts, each under the auspices of a locally elected board. The findings and recommendations of a large-scale evaluation of the governance of New York City schools in the post-decentralization era are presented in this…

This study finds that the New York City version of school-based decision making, School-Based Management/Shared Decision Making (SBM/SDM), fails to bring school-based management or shared decision making to the schools. This report begins by describing the seriously dysfunctional structure of the New York City public schools and explains the…

Describes the process of obtaining and refining community input by major stakeholders utilized in 10 superintendent searches in a Southern state. Professional and personal characteristics and qualifications deemed important for the superintendent were solicited and used by the school boards in selecting the superintendent. (Contains 2 tables and…

A 3-year study of decentralization of Alaska schools identified several factors that influenced whether a school was locally controlled and found patterns of control associated in important ways with staff and community attitudes toward school. Information was gathered by surveys and interviews conducted in 28 communities randomly selected to…

Beginning in 1981, a 3-year study examined implementation of decentralization in rural Alaska education; legislated decentralization had begun in 1975 largely in response to the Native self-determination movement. All rural local school administrators were initially surveyed. Based on their responses and other statewide data, four types of…