In this article, the author makes a distinction between two kinds of change: tinkering change and systemic change. Tinkering change includes reforms intended to address a specific deficiency or practice. Such tinkering change can be contrasted to what Shakespeare termed "sea change" in "The Tempest" ("a sea change into something rich and strange")…

Reviews recent trends in grade organization and factors to consider in examining changes at the district level. Cites the lack of empirical evidence supporting any one form of grade organization as a reason for the range of patterns found in American school districts. Offers guidelines for accomplishing grade organization change. (Author/WD)

Teacher shortages, like the one schools face today, are not new. Periodically over the last 50 years there were fewer teachers available than were needed, and the response was primarily to step up recruitment efforts and issue temporary teaching credentials to those without qualifications. Three things are new however: (1) The requirement that…

Case study from the Providence, Rhode Island School District demonstrates how an outside planning group acted as the instrument for organizational change, while the superintendent provided the impetus for change. Reveals how internal and external factors influence decision making. (APM)

The rationale behind the traditional grade organization pattern of pre-primary, primary, secondary, and tertiary is discussed, as is the trend to extend compulsory schooling later into the teenage years. The impact of these divisions and of compulsory schooling itself on equal educational opportunity is considered. (SJL)

Presents the views of a concerned citizen on reshaping U.S. schools in a peaceful, grass-roots revolution. Emphasis is on the neighborhood school, with parent participation, and a system that keeps students with the same teacher for multiple years. The human and technological resources that the approach requires are discussed. (SLD)

School design must reflect deep-seated changes in educational practices such as using outcome-based education, reorganizing traditional grade structures, grouping students in "houses," and mainstreaming handicapped children. Describes designs for five school buildings that are intended to enhance and undergird what goes on in classrooms.…

Public education is facing a crisis of major proportions, but the things that are basically wrong with schools are not those being emphasized in current proposals for change. This paper identifies two basic defects in the American system of public education: (1) there is too little attention to individual differences; and (2) there is too much…

The essays in this book emphasize trends now shaping society that the authors believe will have a profound effect on schools in the decades to come. Topics covered include declining enrollments and increasing educational costs, the changing role of vocational education, government financing for educational quality, the role of busing, politicking…