Teacher evaluation has emerged as a key strategy for improving student outcomes in public education. The rationale is compelling: teachers vary widely in their effectiveness, and evaluation systems need to identify and address this variation. Performance evaluations have historically been largely perfunctory: no meaningful feedback is provided, no…

Across the country, states and districts are designing principal evaluation systems as a means of improving leadership, learning, and school performance. Principal evaluation systems hold potential for supporting leaders' learning and sense of accountability for instructional excellence and student performance. Principal evaluation also is an…

While literacy interventions can be implemented in any grade, focusing on interventions in grades 3-8 is critical because it is often the best chance for students identified with earlier reading deficiencies to become ready for the literacy demands of postsecondary education and careers. States in both the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL)…

Difficulties in paying for college and in maintaining good academic performance are two major hurdles to college graduation for low-income students. In recent years, state and federal budgets for postsecondary education have been cut significantly, limiting the options policymakers, education leaders, and communities have to improve rates of…

States are in various stages of reforming how they evaluate their educators, all striving for a new system that can assess a range of abilities and practices over long periods of time and capture the full nature of an educator's performance. The strongest systems look at teaching in a more comprehensive way than evaluations have done in the past,…

When crisis strikes, internal audiences at institutions of higher education need accurate information which depends on groundwork laid during good times. Key principles for emergency communication include predicting disasters by reading internal warning signs; preventing a potential crisis from growing; and preparing for smooth communications…

A special report that guides organizers through the steps of cooperative planning--a process that is adaptable to a variety of situations ranging from diverse community activities to institutional reorganization. (Author/MLF)

Presents a theoretical model of internal-external communications and an example of an implementation procedure based on that model. (Author/IRT)

Argues that the internal agency model of a marketing communications department forces the department to compete with outside sources for work, while department members sharpen their skills and improve their knowledge of their company's business. Describes the process for creating such an internal agency, including initiating, implementing, and…

Three case studies of university communication audits are presented to illustrate recommendations and changes implemented in institutional communication as a result of the audit. (JMF)

Suggestions for making the academic planning process at the higher education level more productive include being realistic about what can be accomplished; carefully reviewing past planning efforts; preparing others for change; structuring change over time; and tailoring the model to the circumstances of the changes to be made. Substantive…

The experiences of several colleges and universities in expanding, streamlining, and enhancing alumni association regional programs are presented. Issues discussed include event attendance, offering services efficiently, conducting focus groups, designing events and selecting speakers, and communicating with leaders and members. (MSE)

Tips are provided for planning a year-round program to improve public relations (PR) and organizational communication. Beginning with a list of 12 essential factors for PR, the calendar presents a variety of PR ideas for each month of the year. At the beginning and end of the calendar, guidelines are offered for: (1) creating an effective staff…

Describes in sequence the key considerations involved in planning an effective program for communications among a school's staff members. Covers program goals, communications needs analysis, responsibility, credibility, communications rights of employees, necessary attitudes, planning steps, appropriate channels and network patterns,…

Discusses how to improve the effectiveness of staff meetings. Suggests important considerations: determining whether a meeting is needed, determining its purpose and objectives, developing the agenda, timing, facilitating group discussion, keeping and distributing minutes, and evaluating effectiveness. (CSS)