In the fall of 2004, the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL) convened members of the School Leadership Learning Community (SLLC) and invited guests for three invitational, issue-focused meetings. The meetings were supported by the Laboratory for Student Success (LSS), the mid-Atlantic regional educational laboratory at Temple University,…

Education in Illinois will face a number of problems in the 1980s: decline in student enrollment, inflation, and decline in public support of education. It is impossible to estimate how these forces will affect speech communication and theatre programs, but three factors suggest that real opportunities exist for speech and theatre among the…

Public speaking goes with being on the school board. A few pointers and practice can help you get better at communicating in public. Experts suggest the following: know what your point is and state it precisely; strive to be expressive, using your voice and gestures; and present a story that people can relate to. (MLF)

Verbal outbursts of one school board member can undermine everyone's effectiveness. The risk of an outburst can be reduced by taking a few basic precautions that include distributing materials prior to the meeting. If the outburst happens, ideally the whole board will work as a unit to set the meeting back on the proper course. (MLF)

This paper offers an endorsement of mainstream placements for adolescents with severe and profound hearing impairments, describes successful mainstreaming at Clarke School for the Deaf (Massachusetts) in classrooms using spoken and written English, points out roadblocks that must be negotiated for successful mainstream education, and outlines…

Intended for administrators and policymakers as well as teachers, this digest explores methods of listening and speaking skills assessment. The digest first provides a rationale for teaching and assessing listening and speaking skills. It then examines definitions of oral communication and listening, noting (1) the trend toward defining oral…

This paper proposes new policies which stress making explicit the roles of sign communication and speech in total communication programs for students with hearing impairments. A review of the literature supports the need to redefine total communication, provide improved preservice and in-service training of teachers in effective communication…

Describes the collegewide academic program at Maharishi International University that incorporates speaking and writing into the undergraduate curriculum. The impact of the key features of this successful program upon the mathematics curriculum are discussed in detail. (JJK)