The purpose of this guide is to help chronically struggling schools restructure. "Restructuring" means major, rapid changes that affect how a school is led and how instruction is delivered. Restructuring is essential in achieving rapid improvements in student learning. The focus is on helping education leaders choose strategies that…

Describes a Principal Support Network in San Jose, California, that enables high school principals to become informed, effective leaders, create a collegial support group, and allow space for reading, reflection, and thoughtful discussion. The network is practically focused, has varied meeting agendas, and offers discourse and leadership…

Interviewed principals, union stewards, and teachers in 17 Dade County (Florida) schools to ascertain the effects of reform and restructuring. Respondents were highly supportive of the county's shared management/shared decision-making program but unclear about its aims. Student achievement and curriculum improvement have not yet been evaluated.…

During 1988 and 1989, a university education lecturer in New Zealand organized and directed a 2-year professional development program (the School Leaders Project) for 67 secondary school principals and assistants. Although the program's organization, content, and delivery initially facilitated participants' professional development, the…

Describes a 10-year effort to restructure an urban school system. Central to the process was the role of school principals, who were vested with responsible autonomy in the administration and leadership of their schools. Those who were considered most successful in the restructuring effort were interdependent with, rather than independent of,…

Comprehensive school reform (CSR) is only as effective as its implementation. By using data collected for the National Longitudinal Evaluation of Comprehensive School Reform (NLECSR), this article explores the factors that predict CSR model implementation and the ways that CSR model implementation varies. We found little difference in the fidelity…

This report summarizes an evaluation of Shared Decision Making (SDM) in Los Angeles (California) schools and also includes some comments about School Based Management (SBM). SDM is a democratization of local school decision making that delegates decisions formerly made by principals to local school leadership councils composed of teachers,…

The 307 schools funded by the Ohio Venture Capital program were the focus of a study on teacher empowerment. This paper focuses on the method used to maximize survey responses, rather than on the study findings. Data were sought from the building principals and 10,544 classroom teachers to create a "total picture" of the individual…

The Ninth Grade Summer School Restructuring Program of the Detroit Public Schools (Michigan) was designed to restructure ninth grade in ways that improve academic performance, develop positive attitudes toward learning, improve the school environment to promote learning and self-respect, and prevent dropping out of school. Instructional and direct…

The Ninth Grade Restructuring Program of the Detroit (Michigan) public schools was designed to restructure the ninth grade in ways that improve academic performance, develop positive attitudes toward learning, improve the school environment, reduce the dropout rate, and increase the graduation rate of students. Features of the program were…

The Ninth Grade Restructuring Program of the Detroit (Michigan) public schools was designed to restructure the ninth grade in ways that improve academic performance, develop positive attitudes toward learning, improve the school environment, reduce the dropout rate, and increase the graduation rate of students. Features of the program were…

Introducing a wider perspective of evaluation into the school by developing school-based evaluation mechanisms is discussed. The approach is based on conceptual development derived from U.S. perspectives on program evaluation, actual work in schools with teachers and principals in Israel, and empirical studies in the United States. (SLD)

This evaluation of the Detroit (Michigan) public schools was designed to restructure the ninth grade in ways that improve academic performance, develop positive attitudes toward learning, improve the school environment, reduce the dropout rate, and increase the graduation rate of students. Features of the program were instructional and direct…

The New Jersey Department of Education asked Research for Better Schools, Inc., to design and conduct a data-collection process that would generate information about the programs and practices in the school districts participating in the state's Operation School Renewal (OSR) in 1986-87. The primary purpose was to provide descriptive program data…

A preliminary collaborative model is presented for the restructuring of the San Diego (California) city schools to implement diverse forms of assessment. It is assumed that collaboration among program evaluation, curriculum, and classroom teachers can foster reforms. Central office staff can enable and facilitate the implementation of different…