This practicum project used organized professional development to increase involvement of teachers at a preK-8 school in the school's reform process. All members of the school community actively participated in planning, data collecting, and sharing of pertinent reform information. The 3-month staff development intervention consisted of three…

This book presents guidelines for implementing school-based management practices. Chapter 1 describes the growing interest in and rationale for school-based management (SBM). The second chapter discusses essential characteristics of good schools, and the third chapter describes 13 elements necessary for effective SBM. Pros and cons of SBM are…

Education as a central theme of national and public concern has grown at an unprecedented rate over the past decade. After more than a decade of reform, children have become the poorest of all age groups within the U.S. economy. The issue of equity in education continues to be pitted against the issue of quality in education. This book contains…

This report is an excerpt from the National Education Commission On Time and Learning Final Report, "Prisoners of Time," published in April, 1994. In it, the Commission concludes that the reform movement of the last decade is destined to founder unless it is able to harness more time, and better management thereof, for learning. The…

The 1983 report "A Nation at Risk" exposed an alleged crisis in the United States educational system. This book argues that the American school system is not really in as bad a shape as reported by the media and other government and industry sources. The book admits the existence of problems in the educational system, but insists that many of the…

Many educators see school downsizing efforts as the linchpin of school restructuring. Several forms that school downsizing efforts are taking are explored, along with a discussion of the reasons for which small schools are being established. The types of subschools that are being launched (houses, mini-schools, schools-within-schools) are…

This paper describes how a new elementary school used technology as the catalyst for school restructuring. First, the principal studied 36 schools that had been identified as successful change sites. She conducted interviews with and surveyed the teachers and principals, focusing on how the principal made a difference in facilitating school…

Teacher empowerment was one of eight criteria required by the Ohio Department of Education for funding as part of its Venture Capital Schools in Ohio program. This report, part of a larger study, identifies and summarizes dimensional definitions of teacher empowerment in school restructuring literature in order to enlarge the vision of Venture…

Eight articles, published in various issues of "Education Week" starting in March 1994 and ending July 1995, track the work of eight educational reform design teams: (1) "Back to the Future" (Lynn Olson)--the virtues and values of the past in a modern context; (2) "A Welcome Change" (Ann Bradley)--instruction school…

This publication contains raw data, presented in table form, on the status of state education legislation across the United States. The legislation pertains predominantly to education at the prekindergarten through grade 12 level. Data were collected from legislators, legislative staff, state newsletters, "StateNet," school board/teacher…

This exploration of evaluation strategies for systemic educational reform considers whether there is a way to design an assessment and delivery system that can accomplish the goals of the total educational process. A basic question that must be addressed in systemic reform is the role of education in the socialization processes of society. Beyond…

Twenty/twenty (20/20) Analysis is an outcomes-based approach to identifying and serving students at the margins of education. The analysis focuses on one or more important outcomes of education and looks to the marginal students, the top fifth of achievers (80th percentile) and the lowest fifth (20th percentile). It is based on the belief that…

Powerful economic, social, and political forces are reshaping schools as well as the perceptions of legislators, government officials, school boards, administrators, teachers, businesses, and parents regarding the kinds of pupil services that are needed in schools. At the national level the trend toward shifting decision-making power away from the…

This guidebook is designed to help educational leaders in the transformation necessary to restructure and empower schools. Chapter 1 outlines major structural problems of the current educational system. Chapter 2 explains specific management techniques for restructuring a school system, from the level of the school building to the level of the…

This document presents the proceedings of a symposium which featured 11 Illinois schools that were selected as successful in their school-improvement efforts and focused on the role of colleges of education in facilitating school reform. The schools included two accelerated schools, one magnet school, and several examples of school-based…