This article uses both theoretical knowledge and practical reality associated with the implementation of school improvement as data sources for determining what is desirable for staff development. (Authors)

Describes a regional collaborative designed to help high schools develop the capacity to implement sustainable reforms, explaining the two project phases: skill-building workshops and local implementation plans. Site teams of teachers, administrators, and community members participated. Researchers collected participants' feedback and made four…

Outlines the author's participation in several programs designed to effect change in educational institutions. Observations regarding school decentralization, community participation, and staff development programs are presented. (APM)

The Institute for Development of Educational Activities (/I/D/E/A/) School Improvement Program (SIP) is based upon a school-based approach to staff development and school improvement program known as the Readiness, Planning, Training, Implementation, and Maintenance (RPTIM) Model. There are five stages to the RPTIM Model: (1) readiness, dealing…

In northern Quebec, "Satuigiarniq" is a project that gives Inuit community members a voice in reclaiming responsibility for their children's education. This paper explains how the project developed and improved over time, focusing on training of local leaders, development of community groups, and presentations to the Education Council.…

To identify the changes associated with the school turnaround process, this article reviewed 15 case studies of elementary school turnaround initiatives that sustained improvements for at least two years. Changes were clustered into eight categories: leadership, school policy, programs, organizational processes, staffing, classroom practices,…

The Committee which prepared this report has surveyed the present approaches of teaching reading and communication skills in the Detroit, Michigan schools. The staff has examined previous studies of the Detroit Public Schools. The staff has conducted computer searches, reviewed relevant literature, consulted with nationally known reading…

Discusses how staff development is different in standards-based systems, describing ways to ensure that systems have the capacity for growth and development based on the standards, explaining configuration maps, and presenting six components of building capacity for standards-based reform: covenants; staff and community involvement; curriculum,…

A true leader is not grounded in control, but believes in shared decision making and power. Today's principals should develop leadership skills in others and let them help lead school reform. A Carrollton, Texas high school formed a leadership team comprising staff, students, parents, and the community. (MLH)

Five schools and districts recognized by the United States Department of Education for excellence in professional development used student needs to guide staff learning. This paper describes each model, noting common key practices (e.g., plans are based on student achievement, community support is crucial, site-based decision making is used, local…

A model proposed for school improvement has two assumptions: (1) The local school, as a social organization, is the optimal unit for educational change; and (2) The local school organization must be linked to other educational organizations. For the model to succeed, teachers and administrators must be directly and continuously involved in all…

This proceedings summarizes a conference sponsored by the Center for Rural Education and Small Schools at Kansas State University. Included are the keynote speech and abstracts of 46 conference presentations. The keynote speech, "Invisible and Silent along the Blue Highways," by Patricia A. Schmuck, examines problems of ethnic, racial, and gender…

This is a study of the Piedmont Schools Project, an experimental educational program that was conducted in School District of Greenville County, South Carolina. The study is presented in three parts. Part I describes the school district and the design of the project. Part II examines the nature and effects of the change strategy with specific…

Objectives of a Kentucky project were to analyze existing needs and barriers and potential needs and barriers regarding (1) new and emerging occupations, (2) elimination of discrimination, (3) vocational staff development, and (4) funding vocational education. A statewide planning committee assisted in development of the method and instruments. A…

Randolph County Vocational Technical Center, Elkins, West Virginia, received a grant in 1997 for a project that was part of the High Schools That Work (HSTW) initiative to improve academic skills of career-bound students. The superintendent and faculty knew that improving achievement meant reaching out to the three home high schools to bring them…