In the face of increasing demands for school reform, educational leaders are looking anew at the core elements of the instructional program, including the curriculum. This book serves as a guide to both understanding and practicing sound curriculum development. It lays out the steps of a quality curriculum-development process and emphasizes that this is a collaborative process involving district leaders, school administrators, teachers, students and parents. Shared leadership among stakeholders who are committed to student learning and educational quality is essential. The first chapter describes the foundation principles that guide the improvement effort and outlines basic concepts of W. Edwards Deming's Total Quality Management concept. Chapter 2 details the several types of groups and the planning needed to accomplish curriculum work. As chapter 3 explains, certain foundation documents are also needed: curriculum policies, curriculum goals, and a vision of curriculum excellence. Chapter 4 explains the processes by which the district task forces then produce and evaluate the scope-and-sequence charts and the curriculum guides necessary to quality teaching. Chapters 5-8 describe three major steps district work takes, under direction of the Curriculum Planning Council: aligning and monitoring the curriculum; ensuring effective implementation of the district guide; and developing the school and classroom curriculum. The ninth chapter describes the "bottom-line" audit, through which the effectiveness of the entire curriculum-development process is evaluated. Thirty figures are included. Appendices list questions to be asked when conducting the audit. (LMI)