"For students to be successful in school, they first have to be in school." With that simple statement, Jessica Sprick and Randy Sprick launch a compelling case for prioritizing student attendance. This comprehensive guide provides school and district-level administrators and teams with the background information, strategies, and tools…

How can we approach professional development in a thoughtful way, keep teachers motivated, and make the process worthwhile? It's a truth that school leaders can't deny: teachers tend to think of PD as a distraction from the "real work" of the classroom--as something to get through instead of an opportunity to engage, learn, and grow as…

Several federal agencies jointly produced the "Guide for Developing High-Quality School Emergency Operations Plans" ("School Guide") (ED571878) in 2013. The "School Guide" recommends schools undertake emergency management planning within the context of district, local, regional, state, tribal, and federal agency…

To stem the tide of students dropping out, many schools and districts are turning to early warning systems (EWS) that signal whether a student is at risk of not graduating from high school. While some research exists about establishing these systems, there is little information about the actual implementation strategies that are being used across…

"A Guide to Fundraising at Historically Black Colleges and Universities" is a comprehensive, research-based work that brings the best practices and expertise of seminal professionals to the larger Black college environment and beyond. Drawing on data-driven advice from interviews with successful Black college fundraisers and private sector…

Discusses how using the job itself as a key professional development (PD) tool, identifying core competencies, assessing skills, and reviewing available opportunities leads to an effective PD plan for higher education information technology personnel. (EV)

Innovation insurance involves planning in order to avoid pitfalls. When adopting microcomputers, this means answering 10 preliminary questions, appointing a coordinator of computer services, and arranging inservice teacher training. (Author/JM)

This first in a series of articles on an instructional development project management model discusses the role of the project manager, and outlines the phases of the model that is used to meet training needs. Highlights include project planning, instructional development (including creating the materials), and followup (including evaluation). (LRW)

Describes the author's department goals with three main principles: to build departmental community, to harness rather than dissipate energy, and to address multiple audiences simultaneously. Discusses how she communicates to the college as a whole what the department does well and finds ways in which caring for the department's interests might…

Focuses on ways the dominance of large-school culture within more recent WPA (Writing Program Administrator) record has resulted in over-valorizing of power as a tool for the WPA. Argues that this over-valuation has led to inexact description of the concept of WPA power in the record and, as importantly, has overshadowed other political…

In this digest the functions of an administrator in gifted and talented education are explored. Administrators are seen to have responsibilities in awareness of the students, in community, and the curriculum. Among specific tasks outlined for administrators are developing plans for continuing identification of gifted students, ensuring that…

Key steps in deciding on a new career program include having a program planning model, identifying a planning officer, gathering the necessary planning data, conducting a feasibility study, and understanding the institution's program approval process. (Author/MSE)

Discusses the importance of staff development as reflected in the literature and describes the role of the chief student affairs officer. Presents a systematic process for designing and implementing staff development programs and identifies some obstacles to successful efforts. (JAC)

Suggests how personal and situational aspects of decision making can contribute to effective leadership strategies. Discusses the administrator's role and program development and clientele. (CT)

Advice is offered to alumni administrators who recruit and organize alumni volunteers to serve on the board of directors. Major tasks include: understanding the purposes of the board, selecting the best members, determining what needs to be done, evaluating each member, and forming committees. (JMD)