Recognizing that a solid base of community support was essential if the district was to effectively confront the influences of declining enrollment, the Tulsa public schools organized a group of unbiased but interested community members to study and make recommendations regarding the problem, particularly the utilization of school facilities. A…

In spite of an apparently gloomy outlook, there are many positive aspects to declining enrollments in elementary and secondary schools. Offers several suggestions for dealing with newly acquired surplus space in these schools, four stages to follow when closing a school and reducing size of staff in a school district, and describes five steps to…

Two conflicting tendencies in society are the superindustrial society and the postindustrial alternative. If we pursue the postindustrial vision, schooling will foster an understanding of the nature of the world. (Author/MLF)

A realistic projection of the number of students expected in each of the next ten years, accompanied by a staffing chart showing the personnel needs of the district for the next decade, can help boards of education make plans. (Author/MLF)

Student and alumnae groups have mobilized to preserve Wheaton College as one of a dwindling number of single-sex women's institutions and are taking legal action to fight what they believe is a breach of faith. (MSE)

Merit scholarships, an attempt to maintain the number and quality of students in the face of declining enrollments, are a bad idea for society and for individual institutions. Merit aid will assist students who would have attended college anyway and hurt needy students who might not be able to attend. Includes two tables, eight notes, and 11…

Criticizes the 1987 National Endowment for the Humanities report for blaming "vocationalism" for declining humanities enrollments in colleges. Unlike other disciplines, humanities leaders seem unwilling to seek clients or to engage in self-examination. What's needed is a renaissance of educational populism, or a repackaging of the…

Downsizing--the planned reduction of faculty, staff, and programs--can help institutions control their own destiny while responding to enrollment decline. Strategies for downsizing include: maintaining academic quality, protecting job security, deciding what to cut, determining student/faculty ratio, and maintaining the physical plant. (MLW)

This article highlights the problems school authorities face in reducing spending and the effects the resulting cuts have upon the school they administer. (JDH)

Reports findings of a survey of Illinois school superintendents which focused on which management practices they recommend in response to enrollment decline. Discusses the 32 most highly recommended practices. (KH)

Enrollment decline in our public schools need not be a negative phenomenon. For the first time in decades, pressures of school expansion, overcrowded facilities, and undertrained teachers have practically disappeared in most school districts. We now can reassess curriculum priorities and refocus on the goals and missions of public education.…

Discusses the need for selectivity in (1) student recruitment, (2) program offering, and (3) use of limited resources. Concludes that administrators of speech communication departments need to determine their program strengths and recruit selectively those students who can become successful graduates. (PD)

The projected population of young adults 18 to 24 years old in 1990 is mapped by state, and a chart shows trends in the size of this cohort for each state since 1965 and projected through 1990. Regional totals are also provided. (MSE)

Food service directors across the country are experiencing problems caused by rising costs and declining enrollments. Except for personnel, Radnor Township Schools, in an affluent Philadelphia suburb, have the same problems. (Author/MLF)