Discusses four important issues influencing the current state of mathematics education: what should be taught, how to evaluate students' learning, the role of technology, and the preparation of prospective teachers. Provides a list of five questions to help administrators evaluate their schools' mathematics program. (MLH)

A new Kentucky law requires school board members to undergo 15 hours of training annually, of which 10 are provided by the Kentucky School Boards Association without state funding. A new Georgia law provides funding for required orientation training and encourages further training. Oklahoma, Texas, and Arkansas also mandate training. (PGD)

A school superintendent gave his board a competency test. The idea was to get the members to learn more about the uses of tests and to provide subjects for in-service programs for the members. A portion of the test is included. (IRT)

This school board put itself through an inservice program to learn new skills in goal-setting. (IRT)

Urges policymakers to examine and update their school system's child abuse reporting policy. Such policies must be adequate to help endangered children, protect their right to privacy, and avoid overprotection. Advises on ways to protect staff against unnecessary accusations and develop inservice training programs discussing child abuse, state…

Because child abusers can be found everywhere (even in schools) and children do not easily report abuse, board members are advised to know the law, stay informed about preventive programs, lobby for teacher education changes, foster inservice programs, develop firm policies, educate children, and check employment references. (MLH)

During 1989-90, the teachers of a failing innercity Ohio elementary school embarked on a year-long inservice training workshop. They identified character traits associated with a positive outlook toward life, developed course guides in character education for each grade level, and designed activities and strategies to challenge and motivate…

Discusses the legal ramifications of school personnel other than nurses providing health care in schools and offers guidelines for forming a school medication and emergency care policy. (WD)

Cites statistics on death and injury from high school sports. Offers advice to coaches and athletic directors about safety consciousness, how to assess sports safety programs, and the advantages of employing certified athletic trainers. (MLF)

Hundreds of districts are using high-speed videoconferencing for distance learning and resource sharing, inservice training, and districtwide meetings. Speed matters. Districts will need either Ethernet or ATM (asynchronous transfer mode) forms of wide-area networks to connect schools and offices. (MLH)

Outlines ten steps that could be incorporated into training efforts to help new board members learn the ins and outs of school business. (WD)

Describes causes of the gender gap in the use of computers in school programs. Provides seven suggestions for policy enactment by school boards to address the problems of sex equity in school computer use. (MD)