This report, responding to a Florida legislative request, examines the Palm Beach County School Board's planned purchase of concrete relocatable classrooms. The report presents a number of findings and recommendations. Concrete units are more expensive than models with metal stud walls; both types meet state building code standards. The district…

Asserting that early reading success is a strong predictor of academic success in later grades and that the early childhood years (birth through age 8) are critical for literacy development, this issue brief explores actions states can take to develop and support literacy-rich environments for children. Following an introductory summary, the brief…

This document contains a tool that defines elements of whole-school improvement that school leaders can put into effect at elementary through secondary school levels. The school principal, in collaboration with other members of the school council, can use it to prepare a school portfolio and school profile for self-study or needs assessment.…

Dr. Carl Marburger, New Jersey Commissioner of Education, is interviewed about urban education. (DM)

A member of the President's Commission on School Finance presents an interpretation of that Committee's report. (JF)

Provides information on inservice education for secondary reading teachers which indicates that Ohio teachers have positive attitudes toward reading, that they are creating changes through inservice programs, and that statewide cooperation and school system-university cooperation have resulted in model teacher training programs. (MD)

From the proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Education Commission of the States (3rd, Denver, Colorado, July 7-9, 1969).

Forty-two chief school officers from state departments of education provided information for this study. A table shows the kinds of activities in use in each state, including student codes, community training, surveys of school staff and students, task force reports, and legislation requiring monitoring of violence and vandalism. (PB)

A suit brought by four Penn State students against the university's board of trustees is described that challenged the constitutionality of the composition of the board. The issue of whether students should have voting right membership on boards of trustees is discussed. (MLW)

Comments on state legislative intervention in curriculum during the past decade. Discusses attempts to establish minimum competency testing and legislative mandates regarding subjects and minimum instructional time. Addresses back-to-basics and saleable skills issues and reviews a Presidential Advisory Committee report with a discussion of…

Reports on the national demand for higher educational standards evident in the state legislation of the past three or four years that has mandated minimum competency testing programs. States that have adopted various kinds of such legislation are listed. (JD)

The Massachusetts World Languages Curriculum establishes language proficiency as a priority. Cost has prevented some districts from incorporating world language programs at the middle level. Staff at Wachusett Regional School District decided to expose all their middle-level students to four different languages (French, Spanish, German, and…

Connecticut is struggling to address the "de facto" desegregation that finds 80% of the state's minority schoolchildren enrolled in only 18 of its 166 school districts. In 1996, the state's supreme court ruled that Connecticut's two-tiered system was violating these students' rights. Southeastern Connecticut's improvement plan reflects…

Although more than 40 states have developed public school choice plans, not all plans are equally effective. Problems and possibilities of school choice options in East Harlem (New York), Massachusetts, Minnesota, Missouri, and Wisconsin are outlined. Sidebars list types of plans and elements of successful plans. Includes 13 references. (MLH)