New management teams should not try to borrow purposes and organizational structures; they should develop their own, based on the unique needs of their district and their team members. Organizational structures are less important than interpersonal trust in the smooth functioning of a management team. (SJL)

One of the most difficult school-community relation problems relates to the principal's involvement with the teachers and parents of the area. Poor communication and limited time are chief contributors to the problem and improvement requires a firm plan of operation. Here are eight ideas that can be utilized in developing a program of effective…

Educators from Fullerton Union High School District, Newport-Mesa Unified School District, Capistrano Unified School District, and Huntington Beach Union High School District describe their efforts toward developing competency-based curriculum to meet state mandates. (SJL)

Instructions are given for creating a staff development content profile out of the expressed in-service needs of individual staff members. Articles in this journal issue report on presentations made at the First Curriculum Conference of the Association of California School Administrators (ACSA) in 1978. (SJL)

A powerful vision can help a school focus its values and reach beyond the ordinary to the extraordinary. No matter how well-formulated a vision can fail if inappropriate or when poorly communicated or implemented. A Northeastern Regional Lab document entitled "The Walk" can prompt school community members' reflective thinking in the…

The philosophy at the Jackie Robinson School in California is rooted in the concept that a child's feelings about self and school precede all other concerns. Students here learn to become self-directed, responsible individuals. Describes the school's organizational plan and how it affects students. (Author/RK)

Based on the author's interviews, on-site observations and the reports of eight participating school districts, the year long planning and development activities of Title IV-C programs, designed to implement RISE concepts, were evaluated. Also examines personnel involved with successful program implementation. (Author/RK)

A unique feature of the Vallejo/Dominican College Teacher Corps Project (California) is that the first year is set aside for planning. This allows better needs assessment, more teacher involvement, and a broader definition of staff development. (Author/JM)

In 1976, the Shasta County Schools management staff devised a system to identify the factors of responsibility in management positions and to assign position titles and salaries on this basis. Factors were identified in the areas of program management, budget, and personnel supervision and weighted to rank staff positions. (SJL)

Presented are brief descriptions and comments by administrators of some California arts programs on producing a quality arts program inexpensively. Topics discussed are: initiating a Comprehensive Arts program, the use of CETA artists-in-residence, curriculum development, and the coordination of a high school fine arts program. (Author/SJL)

If schools rush into Back-to-Basics the way they once rushed into open education, educational quality will not improve and the positive, humanistic attributes of progressive education may be lost. Change must be slowly and carefully planned and provide adequate support to the teachers who must implement it. (SJL)

Noting the changing role of the principal toward instructional supervision, this article suggests several plans by which California schools and districts can put together staff development programs using resources from the state's school improvement legislation, AB 65. (SJL)

The Torrance (California) Unified School District is proving that learning flourishes when the community collaborates to create a conflict-resolution program. This article profiles North High School's efforts to develop and select peer mediators, integrate conflict-resolution principles into the curriculum, address roots of conflict in the…

The structure, implementation, and advantages of Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District's decentralized management and budgeting system are described. (SJL)

This article describes the inception and objectives of Project LEAD (League for Educational Administrator Development), an in-service consortium of school districts, county offices of education, institutions of higher education, and professional associations in the Sacramento, California area. Results of LEAD's in-service priorities assessment are…