Schools are learning organisations. They continuously strive to do better for the children and young people in their charge. In doing so, they try new things, seek to learn from those experiences, and work to adopt and embed the practices that work best. Implementation is a key aspect of what schools do to improve, and yet it is a domain of school…

This guide begins with background information useful to understanding Illinois' framework for implementation and evaluation of Programs of Study. It starts with a visual depiction of the relationships between activity at the federal, state and local levels that evolved to the creation of Illinois' Career Cluster Model. This Model, which is based…

The fourth publication in the Model Schools series, this guide for administrators suggests changes and procedures that come mainly from the authors' experience in the Model Schools Project, a five-year program sponsored by the National Association of Secondary School Principals. The project's purpose was to demonstrate in a group of schools that…

Addresses the inevitable change in the study of music in U.S. higher education through a parable that assumes the viewpoint of a historian writing toward the middle of the 21st century. Reviews the events that eventually lead to closing the school of music at the University of Granton, an imaginary school. (CMK)

Numerous topics related to the teaching of English are discussed in this paper. Separate sections deal with changes in the teaching of English between 1965 and 1975 and problems faced by English teachers and by schools in 1975; topics that may be discussed at departmental meetings in an attempt to work out a detailed rationale for a school's…

Now that federal and state initiatives require school districts to provide job-embedded professional development, the next step is making it happen. This book helps districts define, develop, and implement a systematic inquiry-based process with a laser-like focus on both adult and student learning. This book's inquiry model challenges educators…

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program is authorized by section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). Under section 1003(g)(1) of the ESEA, the Secretary must award grants to States to enable the States to provide subgrants to local educational agencies for the purpose of providing assistance for school…

The Title III program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act called PACE (Projects to Advance Creativity in Education), is designed to encourage school districts to develop imaginative solutions to educational problems; to utilize research findings more effectively; and to create, design and make intelligent use of supplementary centers and…

This paper, which is intended as a guide for state policymakers, examines issues and steps in building state-level school-to-work systems. Discussed in the introduction are the state's role in creating a coherent school-to-work system. The following aspects of state-level governance, oversight, and vision are considered: setting system goals,…

This tool was created in order to help young people and adults develop a common language for talking about how to improve schools. The tool provides educators, young people, administrators, policy makers, parents, community members and other stake holders with a common lens for reflecting on their schools and for planning change. It can also be…

Addressing the need to expand nontraditional opportunities for students in vocational education, this document contains three separate training packages intended for use in inservice and preservice training of vocational teachers, counselors, and administrators. The focus of each package is reflected in each of the following titles: "Approaches to…

The Whole-Faculty Study Group (WFSG) System is a student-centered, teacher-driven process for facilitating major staff development and schoolwide change. When applied properly, it has produced extraordinary results for thousands of educators and students in schools and school districts across the country. The Whole-Faculty Study Groups Fieldbook…