Discouraged by their existing administrator evaluation system, a task force of principals reviewed the literature and crafted a more effective process geared to developing leadership capacity that accepts full responsibility for student growth. The process increased interactions with colleagues, gave participants support and assistance in tackling…

Proposes an alternative to strategic and other school-improvement planning: collaborative intervention process (CPI) for initiating schoolwide change. The five-phase process includes planning, assessing, executing, implementing, and evaluating. CPI strategy, which stresses broader stakeholder involvement and frequent intercommunications, should be…

A Maryland middle school helps students navigate passage to high school with 10 crossings: parent engagement, mentoring transitional opportunities program, a middle-school exit form, a special assembly, a closing ceremony, a unification process, departmental articulation, a roundtable involving middle- and high-school principals, and a high-school…

Presents a discussion paper reflecting on the National Literacy Strategy (NLS) after one year of operation. Argues that once the NLS becomes established it will be necessary for all teachers to engage with the research literature so that they teach from a position of professional understanding of the processes involved in reading and writing…

Describes activities associated with Teen Read Week in October, 1999 in which young adult author Adam Rapp was the first Author-in-Residence at Ridgewood High School, near Chicago, Illinois. Notes students in the English Skills class (for students who need extra help) seemed genuinely interested in the book and the author. Describes how funding…

Presents a vision of how the agency-based GILS (Government Information Locator Service) will be implemented to help the public locate and access information throughout the Federal Government. Topics include policy context, the user perspective, data and information, the provider perspective, design principles, functional requirements, and GILS…

Stresses the importance of outdoor ethics education and describes educational strategies such as public awareness campaigns, codes of ethics, dilemma discussions, role plays and simulations, "trigger" films, guided ethics observations, recognizing and rewarding ethical behavior, using role models, guiding students in developing personal…

Compares achievement of students attending a large Florida high school under a traditional schedule during 1993-94 and a trimester block schedule during the following year. Passing grades have gone up 3.7%. Regarding Scholastic Aptitude Test and American College Testing results, there was no significant difference. Teachers, students, parents, and…

The reading workshop is not based on ability groups, but provides a venue to focus on each student's strengths and needs. Components include a teacher-sharing time, focus lesson, state-of-the-class conference, self-selected reading and responding time, and student-sharing time. (MLH)

A reading specialist provides tips for developing a student publishing center aimed at improving writing skills and involving students in all publishing operations. Steps include assembling a planning team, considering various models, gaining financial assistance, furnishing the center, gathering needed supplies, and launching the program. (MLH)

Reports on the Community College of Baltimore County's (CCBC) (Maryland) implementation of LearningFIRST, a plan intended to promote the evolution of CCBC into a learning institution. Six specific directions of the framework are mentioned, including: (1) learning is the core value and direction of CCBC; and (2) the student is central to the…

Describes Iowa Valley Community College District's Contribution Margin Budgeting (CMB) program, successfully implemented to stave off bankruptcy. In this program, each responsibility center receives credit for all income generated and is charged for all expenditures, and each must build its own reserve against revenue shortfalls and unanticipated…

To improve students' critical-thinking skills, an interdisciplinary team of educators collaborated with a specialist. The result: a new model for infusing thinking-skills instruction. This paper describes the change process, the CRTA model's evolution, derivation of its acronym, and early qualitative results. (Contains 31 references.) (MLH)

The Experience Corps for Independent Living is a volunteer service program designed to expand the independent living services available to frail elders and their families. Five first-year projects were able to serve a critical mass and promote community linkages. Three had active leadership development programs. (JOW)

Discusses problems in qualitative-research-practice instruction and describes a computer-based instructional system based on linking domain problems to particular pedagogic mechanisms, and then linking these mechanisms to various implementation decisions. Topics include skill transfer and relational-database management systems. (Author/LRW)