The primary purpose of the District Capacity Assessment (DCA) is to assist school districts to implement effective innovations that benefit students. The "capacity" of a district to facilitate building-level implementation refers to the systems, activities, and resources that are necessary for schools to successfully adopt and sustain…

A Regional Education Agency (REA) functions as a partner with local districts and the State Educational Agency (SEA). REAs provide training, guidance and support intended to enable school districts to operate efficiently and improve their student outcomes. The primary purpose of this Regional Capacity Assessment (RCA) is to assist regional…

The purpose of the District Capacity Assessment (DCA) Technical Manual is to provide background information on the technical adequacy of the DCA (Ward et al., 2015). This current version draws upon a rich history and background of previous work assessing district capacity. Notably, the current version includes significant modifications from…

Recognizing that a necessary and significant role change is underway in faculty development, this book calls for centers to merge their traditional responsibilities and services with a leadership role as organizational developers. Failing to define and outline the dimensions and expertise of this new role puts centers at risk of not only…

Mentoring has become increasingly popular during recent years and particularly so in the provision of leadership development, including the mentoring of school principals. In New Zealand, many of these mentoring programmes are developed and funded by central government and are mostly designed to meet the needs of those in their initial years of…

Total Quality Management (TQM) is defined and described, and its application in higher education institutions is discussed. The paper examines: TQM origins, salient features, importance of organizational leadership and commitment, use of strategic planning, customer orientation, the notion of continuous improvement, assessment of progress, and…

Focusing on data-driven educational planning and implementation, this article presents three examples of data analysis used for educational improvement in the Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) Public Schools. (MD)

Advice is offered for developing and strengthening college alumni special interest groups. These include setting clear guidelines; striving for membership quantity and enthusiasm; focusing on a mission; developing strong and creative leaders; sharing responsibility among staff; setting reasonable objectives; and finding financial support. (MSE)

To develop and implement diversity initiatives in the university community requires the effective implementation of initiatives in many areas. Diversity leaders should be cognizant of institutional values and attitudes and the vision espoused by the university's president. The diversity leader should inform the university community about…

This guide is a product of a study of factors associated with exemplary inclusive high schools and focuses on the key factor of leadership. The study identified four schools and studied them for 2 years using various data collection methods. This resulting document describes what school and district leaders can do to build inclusive programs and…

Development of leadership teams, a technique developed in the corporate sector, can help colleges and universities create a leadership culture to cope with institutional issues. The experience of the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (Pennsylvania) is offered as an illustration. (MSE)

Outlines an eight-step approach to launching an integrated college or university marketing/fund-raising program: finding a visionary campus leader; getting presidential support; assembling a three-tier marketing structure; considering new ways of defining quality; developing a marketing "blueprint"; selling the program on campus; embracing…

Middle level schools have special needs because of the characteristics of the age group served. Staff development is crucial for middle schools. Its purposes and major planning components are presented in this paper. Most mid-level educators were prepared for elementary or high school teaching and have a limited knowledge of early adolescent…

This chapter, taken from a guide to designing, implementing, and evaluating instruction and services for students with disabilities, addresses the issue of teacher collaboration. It provides information about the nature of teacher collaboration, its role in relation to special education service delivery as well as other school trends, its…

Guidelines for establishing an effective fund-raising board include knowing the group's and the institution's mission, getting expert help, recruiting helpful individuals, making expectations clear, giving trustees honest information, promoting trustee self-examination, getting a key leader to direct recruitment, welcoming new leadership, having…