A Maryland high school has developed a formal program of school/business partnerships, with W.R. Grace Company cast in the starring role. Success depends on creating a professional position to supervise and promote school-business partnerships; providing employee training to delineate partners' roles, responsibilities, and expectations; and…

Local interagency transition councils have been deemed the appropriate vehicle for planning and implementing transition services for students with disabilities. A recent evaluation of Florida's system disclosed that students and businesses are underrepresented on transition councils. Districts developing transition programs without interagency…

Participants in the Honolulu School District's Dispute Management in the Schools Project strongly believe that students can effectively participate in activities affecting their destiny. Preliminary evidence shows that student mediators and disputants demonstrated a 95 percent success rate of conflict management during the three project years.…

The techniques of program evaluation parallel the historian's methods, which usually consist of mining both qualitative and quantitative sources. Test scores, questionnaires, and unobtrusive measures provide good quantitative data, whereas interviews supply important qualitative information. Researcher involvement in the project being assessed can…

Naturalistic evaluation aims to portray a program holistically, summarizing and interpreting concerns and issues, and presenting consideration beyond the data from respondent and evaluation input. This article shows how this approach was used to evaluate certain Getty Institute Discipline-Based Art Education training programs. (MLH)

Describes how to measure whether students are making significant gains in reading. (JM)

A well-planned formal mentor program established for continuous peer support is the ideal system for both tenured and untenured faculty. A Pennsylvania program has six full-time mentors to help teachers during and after school. The program is rooted in the concepts and practices of peer coaching, counseling, and support. Mentors' qualifications,…

Describes a Principal Support Network in San Jose, California, that enables high school principals to become informed, effective leaders, create a collegial support group, and allow space for reading, reflection, and thoughtful discussion. The network is practically focused, has varied meeting agendas, and offers discourse and leadership…

One way of determining the effectiveness of teacher education programs is to have evaluations of program graduates made by the principals employing them. Such an evaluation in Texas found that teacher education graduates received evaluations while they were practice teachers that differed from those they received as employed teachers. (Author/MLF)

As Mississippi's experience shows, there are five necessary stages for staff development: preplanning (forming a committee), planning, implementation, evaluation, and maintenance. This article examines each phase, provides checklists, and highlights the principal's responsibility during each phase. (eight references) (MLH)

A Goals 2000 grant enabled Rutland Northeast (Vermont) Supervisory District to conduct a year-long unit-design project for K-12 teachers and university interns. Participants reported a sharpened focus for classroom activity, with purpose clearly defined by authentic tasks and rubrics. Freeing time for unit development represents a cost recoverable…

One approach to rebuilding public confidence in schools is to establish a visiting program for parents and patrons. This article describes a one-day "accreditation visit" program in Colorado that asks parents to observe classes, assess school climate, and make suggestions for school improvement. (MLH)

Describes one school district's system for evaluating and selecting microcomputer software for computer assisted instruction. The process includes a computer technology council in charge of evaluation and a software evaluation form (reproduced here in its entirety). (Author/JM)

A guidance instructional program at Mentor High School in Ohio relies greatly on free time as the primary motivator of low achievers. (Author/MLF)

An evaluation of the 4 X 4 block schedule used in three North Carolina high schools elicited strong support from teachers, students, and parents. Schools planning to implement this model should review D. G. Hackman's guidelines covering faculty input, feedback procedures, training opportunities, teacher fatigue, holidays, classroom monitoring,…