Good ethics are good business. Top management should be committed to a code of ethics based on a true participative process. The organization should be willing to commit resources for training to ensure proper implementation of the code. (SK)

Lee Etta Powell, the new superintendent in Cincinatti's (Ohio) schools, believes that teachers should participate in the issues affecting the running of schools. She expects her administrators to bring in teachers, parents, and other community members to advise and respond. (MLF)

By the year 2000, school decentralization could become another unfortunate, ineffectual pendulum swing. According to this article, a dynamic, ever-changing system of decentralization and centralization balances the benefits of local administrative autonomy with the pursuit of unified goals and helps each leadership level understand its…

Identifies five types of parent participation, including basic obligations of parents and schools and parental involvement at school, in home learning activities, and in governance and advocacy. These types occur in different places, require different materials and processes, and lead to different outcomes. No one model serves all purposes. (MLH)

Although many school districts may effectively use traditional industrial union bargaining, this approach is based on an adversarial posture emphasizing winners and losers. This article describes more mature industrial relations bargaining structures, such as meet-and-confer, win-win, and alternative approaches that transcend the legally mandated…

Contrasts two communities' solutions to the AIDS crisis. Ocilla, Georgia, self-defined as a community of isolation, tries to avoid AIDS and segregate virus-carriers (Blacks only so far) from everyone else. Pilsen Academy (Chicago) is a model of openness, approaching AIDS through education, individual empowerment, collective decision-making, and…

Describes a one-year experiment with collective management--i.e., management in which decision-making rests with the department as a whole--in the Oberlin College Library reference department. The planning process, problems, and advantages and disadvantages of this style of management are discussed. Several questions are raised about the…

The League of Professional Schools is a practitioner-driven, school-initiated reform effort founded on the belief that those closest to students have the capacity to improve schools. The league now has 62 member schools working on action plans. The league's three guiding premises are shared governance, action research, and instructional focus.…

The Canandaigua City (New York) School District successfully incorporated educational technology into a capital project, thanks to efficient planning. Planners should build a team, shape a vision, work backwards toward specifics, keep the plan flexible, put off hardware decisions, choose the best software, invest in training and support, and…

Under a block schedule, students generally attend fewer but longer classes. Teachers who have tried the approach say they accomplish more in each class session and use a variety of teaching strategies and learning activities. A chart explains the most common varieties of block scheduling. (MLF)

Presents techniques for ensuring constituency involvement in district- and site-level budget management. Outlines four models for securing constituent input and focuses on strategies to orchestrate the more complex model for staff and community participation. Two figures are included. (LMI)

This article reviews the basic tenets of the Situational Leadership model, examines the steps of the Conflict Model for decision making, and presents a conceptual model that integrates the two. The integrated model aims to provide a systematic means for allowing individuals to learn how to participate in organizational decisions. (JDD)

Discusses a study tour sponsored by Stanford University (California) for which teachers were trained in curriculum development. Questions whether encouraging teachers to become curriculum developers represents empowerment or a distraction from teaching. Argues that teaching is unlike curriculum development. Presents challenges that teachers…

Examines the dynamics of organizational communication following corporate implementation of quality circles. Describes the rhetorical visions of people at three organizational levels closely associated with quality circles: (1) managers; (2) facilitators who organize the quality circles; and (3) employees. (SR)

Recounts a sequence of activities that occurred in a senior high school geometry class and helped students to engage in creative reasoning. All student suggestions were discussed by the class, and pursuing alternative solutions was not only encouraged but required. (MKR)