The study summarized in this report explored the attitudes of 320 teachers employed at three ethnically diverse high schools selected to pilot the Model Schools Project during the 1988-89 school year. The survey was returned by 164 teachers. The researcher-developed study questionnaire elicited attitudes toward school reform, perceptions of the…

This document seeks to define the kinds of administrators who will be needed to ensure first-rate elementary and middle schools in the next century. Underlying the report is the belief that present principal preparation programs are inadequate and require overhauling. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on demographic changes, effective schools, and the nature…

This paper summarizes the major recommendations agreed on at a conference of parents, educational administrators, and educators from 21 school systems in five New England states. The subject of the conference was choice in public education. First, excerpts from opening remarks and a note on the conference are presented. Then, major recommendations…

This catalogue discusses major Minnesota proposals over the past two years (through the end of the 1985 legislative session) for improving the quality of K-12 public education in the state. Following a 10-page summary is a legislative update which provides a picture of education reform as enacted by the state legislation, and connects some of the…

This paper reports the findings of a study (based on telephone interviews) of over 30 school-based management programs. Examined are the changes in roles, the strengths and limitations of various approaches, and the conditions most favorable to success. There are four main sections: (1) literature review; (2) research questions and methods; (3)…

The example of the Cincinnati (Ohio) Public Schools demonstrates that involving taxpayers in school district budgeting can generate school improvement. This financially troubled district decided in 1979-80 to (1) fully inform the public of the schools' financial position; (2) involve the public in improving that position; (3) involve the public in…

This manual is addressed to principals and program managers within the Seattle Public Schools. It presents a planning process model and includes blank forms on which principals are instructed to inform the directors of their school-based plans for improved school effectiveness. The introduction describes Project ACCESS (A Community Cooperating for…

Although the role of a superintendent has commonly involved a conflict between instructional leadership and business management, this dichotomy is apparently false; superintendents can effectively fill both roles. To explore this possible harmony of roles, one superintendent was studied who by reputation filled both roles very well. The…

This report is one in a series of publications issued on school-based management and improvement (SBI). The publication is intended to present the best and most interesting of the research involving school based approaches to educational reform, including research on effective schools. It begins with an introductory article on SBI and its link to…

The National Education Association's "Operation Rescue" employs a two-tiered approach to combating the dropout rate: the first approach is research and information sharing, the second is to facilitate direct action at the local level through a grants program to fund dropout prevention programs in the schools. In order to focus Operation…

Decentralized or school-based budgeting is a growing practice in Saskatchewan (Canada) school systems. A survey of 179 elementary and secondary principals in 60 of the province's larger rural school districts sought to find the extent of budget decentralization and the principals' attitudes toward the arrangement. The results indicated that (1)…

Charts development and describes features of multidisciplinary health studies course emphasizing experiential learning being introduced as part of Munn and Dunning development program. Suggests methods for easing tensions generated when aspects of school-based development are introduced into centrally controlled curriculum change to develop…

In Hammond, IN, the hierarchical structure of authority typical of most school districts is on its way out. With school based committees making more decisions, teachers are having a say in all matters that affect them and their students. Includes an interview with teacher and union leader, Patrick O'Rourke (Author/LHW)

As part-time volunteer members who have few direct operational duties, board members constantly are bombarded with information on matters ranging from strategic plans to operating budgets to tuition rates to parking permits. In the end, it is they who are accountable for all activities that occur in their institutions and systems. The need for…

From the mission, several principles were developed to guide the School-Based Management and Accountability Program (the ABCs). (1) The ABCs sets standards for student performance and growth in the basics that are the foundation for further learning and achievement; (2) The accountability system in the ABCs plan is designed to result in improved…