According to Annenburg Institute consultants, all education community members need the responsibility and authority to take appropriate leadership roles. Effective schools develop a shared vision, determine clear priorities, promote continuous professional learning, link schools to community assets, provide strong accountability, and reorganize…

Bob Goerke, principal of Jacksonville (Oregon) Elementary School and Oregon's National Distinguished Principal for 1999, raised student achievement by encouraging his staff to collaborate on articulating the curriculum. Proceeding gradually, he has encouraged joint planning, team teaching, and ability grouping. A blend of warmth, daily classroom…

Discusses school reform in Japan, examining issues of school organization and regulation, curriculum development, and parent-teacher-student relationships and participation from two perspectives: human rights and global education. The relevant issues are explored under five dimensions: student self-government, interpersonal relationships, student…

Describes one elementary school's experimental, inclusive, fifth-grade class that was team-taught by a special and a regular educator, focusing on: shared decision making, curriculum development, how the teachers changed, how the students grew, and the school support system (which included the teachers, the students, the principal, other faculty…

Details the value management process in which a group of diverse, disciplined professionals work together to design a better facility for a given budget. Areas addressed include a definition of value management, some derived benefits, negative aspects, projects best suited to this method, specific results, who pays, who is involved, scaled-down…

Describes the development and implementation difficulties with the California Wellness Foundation's initiative to improve children's environment, how children's participation helped resolve initiative difficulties, and the development of several pilot projects. Articles describing research conducted in various parts of the planning project and the…

Describes the work of young people in four pilot projects in which they developed strategies to address issues considered by them to be problematic within their communities. The implications of this kind of work for public health are discussed. (GR)

Reviews developmental psychology literature for its relevance for designing organizations for children and youth followed by a review of theories on the development of children's identity, social understanding, and capacity to participate. The reviews summarize what is being said about the values of youth participation in community organizations…

Shares observations made and lessons learned by the author while student teaching in a democratic classroom environment. Outlines keys to creating a democratic classroom. Discusses preparing teachers for democratic classrooms. (SR)

Vancouver (Washington) is rebuilding its entire educational infrastructure. Community involvement in the planning process for each school has created a sense of ownership, created spaces that implement good educational ideas and accommodate community activities, and given each school its own "signature." An emphasis on efficiency has…

Renovations contributed to academic improvement at an Issaquah (Washington) elementary school. Enclosing an open-air corridor enabled it to be used for educational activities. Double doors connected classrooms for team teaching, and carpet improved acoustics. A music room, library, and computer lab were also added. Student and community…

Leadership plays an important role in middle-school community members' collaborative efforts. Principals, by valuing and recognizing contributions of each teacher, staff member, student, and parent, give high visibility to the collaborative process. Principals also bolster collaboration by providing necessary support systems and helping…

A survey of 43 principals and 230 teachers in western Australia examined 3 aspects of the policy of inclusion of students with disabilities: (1) severity of teacher stress when asked to include a child with a mild intellectual disability; (2) degree of perceived teacher control over placement decisions; and (3) acceptance of the inclusion…

To maintain quality education and high morale, educational decision making must become decentralized, particularly during financially difficult times. Teachers and other educational stakeholders, rather than government or educational bureaucrats, should be asked about where and when to cut expenditures. Centralized decision making, where the few…

A school district in Spring Valley, New York, has made its move to site-based decision making. The district sent 175 administrators, teachers, parents, and community members to a two-day training session to learn how to effectively work at building consensus as team members. (MLF)