California's K-12 enrollment is projected to decline for the next two decades, driven by falling birth rates, reduced immigration, and out-of-state migration. With fewer students, districts receive fewer state dollars and may be forced to make tough decisions, including reductions to programs, staff, and/or schools. However, budget realignment…

The Indiana Choice Scholarship Program has the potential to be the largest school voucher program in the country. Though the authorizing legislation capped enrollment in the program at 7,500 for its first year (the 2011-12 school year), that cap was increased to 15,000 for this year, and will be removed for all subsequent years. With careful…

Background/Context: The U.S. federal government has been interested in improving the performance of students who come from low-income homes since the time of Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" initiatives in the 1960s. The current administration strongly supports the belief that good schools can be created and has funded the Comprehensive…

Presents an overview of the articles in this special issue and defines scaling up and externally developed school reform. Key elements for successful scaling up are highlighted. (MMU)

This paper describes the initial efforts of the New American Schools Development Corporation (NASDC), a private, nonprofit corporation created as part of the American 2000 initiative to fund the development of new designs for American schools. NASDC is currently funding nine teams to develop and demonstrate designs for high-performing schools.…

This Digest examines the key issues surrounding the implementation of schoolwide reform. It discusses how whole-school reform results can be dramatic but that schools must take special care with implementing the reforms. It examines the importance of outside assistance in reform efforts and reports that design teams are typically used by schools…

Describes the characteristics, implementation, and evaluation of eight school restructuring designs in an impoverished, urban, district in 1995 in Memphis (Tennessee). Type of program design, quality of professional training, resources, principal leadership, and teacher support affected the restructuring. (MMU)

Consistent with educational reform efforts, the Quality Performance Assessment (QPA) Process Module was designed to disseminate information about the QPA Process, and to be a training vehicle so that members of the Kansas State Board of Education Outcomes Education Team and the Kansas education community might have the knowledge base necessary to…

In 1991, the New American Schools (NAS) Development Corporation was founded by a group of business and foundation leaders interested in investing in innovative designs for school transformation. This book describes the first 3 years of development and evaluation of 9 NAS whole-school restructuring designs. The designs were very diverse, as were…

This report offers insights on the experiences and techniques used in the Dearborn Public Schools effort to integrate Title VII and Chapter 1 programs prior to their reauthorization. The school system is located near metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, and has over 14,500 students representing 24 languages, many from the Middle East, Romania, and…

Discussion of redesigning the current models of public education focuses on the Schoolyear 2000 Initiative in Florida, which is aimed at large-scale redesign of schooling. Design requirements for the new model are described, the role of technology is discussed, and the use of quality systems and total quality management (TQM) concepts is reviewed.…

This paper on school-college partnerships summarizes the recent history of these efforts, the "lessons learned" about collaboration, gaps where further study is needed, and an annotated bibliography of significant resources. The history of school-college partnerships began in the 19th century and has continued throughout the 20th century with the…

Explores issues faced by designers of school choice systems as numbers and types of choice arrangements proliferate and become more complex. Defines elements of a successful system of choice. The system developed will depend on the intentions, assumptions, and commitments present in the initial design. (SLD)

The goal of this guide is to provide information, support and practical tools that may help educators design, implement, and evaluate their school's standards-based education program. In order to work, a comprehensive, standards-based educational program must, by definition, be the organizing structure upon which the school program operates.…