Many urban districts use a portfolio management model, hoping to promote school choice and improve school performance. This model requires school closure, which has predominantly impacted lower income families. In 2013, Chicago Public Schools relocated Granger Elementary into one of 48 schools it closed, placing its middle-class parents in the…

In response to the "Meredith v. Jefferson County Board of Education" Supreme Court decision, Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS) reconfigured the district's race-based student assignment and implemented a race- and socioeconomic-based student assignment plan. Using hierarchical linear multiple regression, this study examined students'…

Claims there are many styles of governance observable in schools and that these are a consequence of changes in schooling technology and in shifting demands from school environments. Asserts that an understanding of school governance and the place of collective bargaining within it requires sensitivity to the multiple mental models. (Author/MK)

Centers on importance of ideological thought systems in shaping political and organizational actions in educational governance. Argues that the ideological factor (1) links (or fails to link) school board members to their constituencies, (2) defines problems and processes for policymaking, and (3) communicates a mandate for action to school…

Four research studies that examined the perceptions of school principals regarding the effect of collective bargaining on their work are reviewed and analyzed. Suggestions for additional studies on this topic are made. (EB)

Focuses on school boards as sociocultural systems. Asserts that boards' decision-making processes operate within a cultural context and have, over the centuries of their existence, developed a culture of their own. Proposes that culture dictates a decision-making output that is not as responsive or immediate as would be expected. (Author/MK)

This paper describes how one school district grappled with the problem of deciding which of its schools should be closed. Also discussed is how predictive data from a computer simulation of school closings were used in making the decision. (Author/EB)

Posits several ways of interpreting the finding that, nine months to one year after its publication, "A Nation at Risk" had had no direct impact on policies in public school districts in Louisiana. Questions the function of national commissions and whether their work can produce any lasting changes. (RDN)

An examination of the nature and use of appealed grievances in an urban school district indicated that the grievance appeals process was being utilized by the leaders of the teacher organization to enhance their organization's status. Classroom conditions were found to be a likely area of future conflict and implications are discussed for the…

This article discusses the impact that declining school enrollments have had on changes in school politics. (EB)

Data from a study of eight Chicago suburban elementary school districts are used in this paper to assess the impact that declining enrollments and funds have had on the educational policies of suburban school districts. (Author/EB)

This article discusses how the available models for describing the school-closing process are not applicable to large cities. Determinants of the school-closing process in St. Louis, Missouri, are analyzed. (BE)

Investigates school board receptivity, defined as an attitude set that favors greater communication and participation by the public, using data derived from interviews with 492 board members from 82 school boards distributed across the continental United States. (JM)

Summarizes recent scholarship on superintendents and classroom learning. Concludes that central-office involvement is infrequent but probably necessary for widespread school improvement. Proposes guidelines for future research. (BJV)