In 1995-96, the Edmonton (Alberta) Public Schools' enterprising superintendent allocated most of the district's central-services funds (about $20 million) to schools. Schools may purchase services and products from the district or outside vendors and commit any amount on building-level program expenditures. Central cost-recovery strategies are…

A social studies teacher observes that after 10 years, decision making will probably never be decentralized in Rochester (New York) schools. Contracts, precedents, school board policy, and state law place far too many restrictions on schools' creativity. Maybe hierarchical administrative decision making is best, so long as community members' input…

To ease the transition to participative decision making, some site-based-managed schools are turning to technologies such as computers, spreadsheets, word processing, e-mail, voice mail, databases, and the Internet. Although few schools recognize available technological options and their ability to improve accountability, some administrators in…

A nationwide random sample of 1,500 superintendents was asked questions about power: a wish list and a reality list. Responses from 423 (28%) superintendents suggest that students' achievement test scores are higher in school districts that share decision making, while a more authoritarian approach to management seems linked to lower student…

General Motors Corporation's disastrous experiment with robots holds valuable lessons for school reform. Consumer choice can signal when reform is needed, but it identifies no magic bullets for achieving reforms. Market-based initiatives can succeed when based on five principles stressing worker understanding, incentives and problem-solving…

Canada's public schools may be neglecting average students by failing to give them the structure and care their parents think desirable. A "soft" form of school choice, such as British Columbia's traditional schools option, allows greater parental influence. As parents gain more influence in schools, they must take more responsibility…

Describes several reasons, based largely on dissatisfaction with New York City bureaucracy, why principal of International High School in Queens decided to accept invitation to become a charter school: Student selection challenges; need for school-based staffing; scheduling, financial, and purchasing rigidities; and state assessment requirements.…

Adults participating in a Los Angeles "school family" network will be engaged for the next several years in the Annenberg Challenge--a national reform initiative aimed at improving student performance. Participation offers opportunities to develop a coherent K-12 education plan, access extra resources, and pursue collaborative…

Examined implementation of state-mandated site-based management (SBM) in Texas high schools. Teacher and principal surveys indicated that state-level reform policies were subject to interpretation at the school level. Urban schools had high levels of SBM program structure but low teacher perceptions of decision making responsibility. Case studies…

Decentralization has been a popular theme in school districts for a long time. Indeed, most districts claim that they are decentralized, having latched onto the "site-based management" movement of the 1980s. Superintendents and central-office personnel point to their local school councils, staffed by parents, teachers, and school…

Focuses on extent of feminization of teaching and principalship in Israel. Examines interaction of local authority and school contexts on the percentage of women teachers in schools and probability of having women as principals. Suggests that different economic, sociocultural, and organizational contexts are associated with patterns of…

Current research indicates that new teachers want to be involved in school-level decision-making. Upon entering the profession, many novice teachers are surprised and disillusioned to find they have considerably less involvement and influence than expected. Based on strategies that have been developed, revised, and refined over a number of years…

Principal-preparation programs require students to take research courses; however, principals are often unprepared to apply research skills in school settings. This paper discusses approaches to using data for decision making in a site-managed school. It describes one high school's efforts to apply research and recommends that…

In 1991 the Oregon Legislature passed major school-reform legislation, the Oregon Educational Act for the 21st Century. The act contains the following provisions: early childhood education; nongraded, developmental education; outcomes-based education; comprehensive support services; and school-based decision making. Oregon's educators were not…

This book is comprised of six case studies that were commissioned by the National Center for Restructuring Education, Schools, and Teaching (NCREST) at Teachers' College, Columbia University, New York City, New York. Five elementary and one middle school from Kentucky, Florida, Indiana, South Carolina, and Maine are represented. They present a…