Working with teachers, parents, and the school board, the East Hampton (Connecticut) Public Schools developed a program that improved students' paragraph writing within one year. The program involved setting objectives on paragraph construction and use of supporting information, giving teachers inservice training, specifying students' problems,…

Schools need clear, consistent, and equitable disciplinary practices. A Louisiana parochial school developed an effective discipline policy by assembling faculty and staff into natural work teams, appointing team leaders, having each group list and classify troublesome disciplinary problems, studying the school mission statement, developing…

To improve test scores and instructional quality, school districts in New Brunswick (New Jersey) and Adams County (Colorado) implemented programs to increase student time on task. Administrators introducing time on task programs should involve teachers and principals in planning, answer six staff questions, and provide support for necessary…

Applied academics is the watchword in several West Virginia secondary schools. Instead of sitting in classrooms, junior high students are measuring floor tiles, estimating stadium seating capacity, or launching models to study acceleration; high school students are creating a complicated model-railroad layout and a computer-controlled system to…

Describes a half-day, weekly program designed for academically gifted children in a rural school system in Northern California. Success hinges on a reliable checklist to identify gifted children, an effective coordinator in each school, involvement of interested teachers, creative curriculum ideas, and a fair student selection and deselection…

Avoid the one-shot approach to evaluating administrators by designing a continuous system that focuses on improved performance. The four parts of this school district's evaluation system--philosophy, procedures, instruments, and training--are described, and a sidebar lists the specific job duties used in evaluating administrative performance. (DCS)

A number of school districts have set up employee assistance programs (EAP) that offer help for employees having personal or family problems that affect their job performance. Guidelines for establishing an EAP are offered. (MLF)

With fewer church-going youngsters and more dysfunctional families, today's schools have become more involved in character education. A student's death from leukemia propelled the Boston Public Schools into a formal values-education effort. The district offers a comprehensive literature-based program that teaches values such as courage, honesty,…

Describes the development of a program to improve school productivity in Richland County (South Carolina) School District One. Lists the program's six criteria, involving reading and mathematics test performance, teacher and student attendance, and parent and student attitudes. Presents the results of the program's first year. (RW)

Wisconsin's statewide apprenticeship program is a model school-to-work transition program. In one cooperative endeavor, juniors and seniors work part time at local businesses and attend community college classes two days a week. After testing their community's receptivity, administrators should form a steering committee to target occupational…