This book provides useful guidelines for implementing collaborative decision making in the public educational system. The prologue presents the historical background of educational reform in the United States and offers a rationale for radical school reform at the individual school level. The nine chapters that follow are divided into three parts. Part 1 introduces the concept of empowerment in schools and describes how collaborative teams allow individuals to take the initiative in a collaborative and cooperative environment. Part 2 presents the type of training required to develop the collaborative skills that a self-directed school demands. The third part examines the issues that must be addressed by a self-directed school, as well as by the overall educational system, such as who decides what and when. The epilogue considers how the self-directed school can best facilitate the development of self-directed learners and describes ways to transfer power to students. Twenty-one figures are included. (LMI)