One of a series of reports documenting efforts at educational restructuring nationwide, this paper focuses on the achievements and ideas of James Comer, founder and director of the School Development Program (SDP) of the Child Study Center at Yale University. The first part of the report presents remarks made by Dr. Comer on the history and…

This paper discusses current school reforms and their role in addressing barriers to student learning. Providing all students an equal opportunity to succeed requires more than higher standards and greater accountability for instruction, better teaching, increased discipline, reduced school violence, and an end to social promotion. It also…

The praxis orientation is proposed as an approach to school-based evaluation that enables professionals to understand power relationships and act toward empowerment of the local school community. The orientation is offered as an alternative to the positivist power-control approach, which is critiqued. (TJH)

School staff members need continuing opportunities to learn and grow because the waves of social change strike them first and most powerfully. Research on effective schools tends to stress staff development as crucial. School boards are involved in the development of their staff. A staff development program of broad scope and sharp focus can…

Proposals for the adoption of programs to improve the quality of education frequently emphasize the importance of concentrating on the individual school building as the center of the change process. This emphasis has led to increasing support for moving the locus of decision making downward to bring about what is called "school based…

Middle level education needs personnel specifically educated for and committed to working with the middle level age group and program, and this requires the development of sound middle level teacher certification requirements and programs. (Author/DCS)

Gifted education depends on two linkages in its program development efforts: the special education linkage and the general education linkage. A closer working relationship with general education is recommended, along with careful consideration of the curriculum reform movement, basic research on teaching and learning, and effective schools…

Major technical issues concerning the assessment of student learning in higher education are presented in light of the authors' own knowledge of principles and methods of testing and measurement. This information is intended to help academic administrators and faculty draft a charge to a committee for the design and implementation of an assessment…

This paper describes the positive changes in the organizational climate and the role of the principal in one high school during four years of implementing the Spencerport (New York) Effective Schools/Teaching Project. A gradual increase in the building level commitment of the project has led to a redefinition of leadership to include the Building…

The current perception of faculty tenure as a guarantee of a job for life can impede the removal of teachers who do not perform up to standards. Such faculty, however, can have an extremely negative effect on overall college quality, and studies have shown that community college faculty do support post-tenure evaluation if it is responsibly…

Experiences of the Des Moines (Iowa) public schools as they work for educational improvement and school restructuring are described. The school system will be considered successful only if what is taught is learned at an acceptable level by all students. Restructuring is traced from its 1989 inception to the present. (SLD)

In 1989, the Focus on Access, Community, and Excellence in Teaching (FACET) Commission was created at St. Petersburg Junior College (SPJC) to develop recommendations to guide the college into the 21st century. The Commission's work plan included the definition of SPJC's educational standards; open hearings to solicit ideas from students, faculty,…

Examined in this book are issues related to the education of at-risk children and youth. Part 1 of the volume consists of 12 original papers presented and discussed at the Council of Chief State School Officers' (CCSSO) 1987 Summer Institute. Papers concern: (1) values, standards, and climate in schools serving students at risk; (2) schools and…

During the 1982-1983 school year, the Illinois State Board of Education conducted an intensive study of the state's education-for-employment program. The study assessed the role of the state and local school districts in meeting the needs of their vocational, employment and training, career, and adult education programs. The board's study…

These proceedings consist of the texts of papers and panel discussions presented at a Parker Project-sponsored futures symposium on youth, work, economic productivity, and the challenges facing Wisconsin's secondary schools in providing job training for the future. Addressed in the individual presentations included in this volume are the…