Following a brief introduction to the David Douglas School District community and schools located in a partly unincorporated area of Portland/Multnomah County, Oregon, this publication describes the district's prior annual goal-setting process and its evolving Vision 90's strategic-planning and implementation process (SPI). Strategic-planning…

Successful forensic tournaments are educational instruments that foster knowledge in areas of public speaking, debate, and interpretation, and can be an integral part of the process in carrying out program and department objectives and goals. Reasons to host a forensic tournament include: a need for competition in that area of the country; a…

Implementing technology in a classroom is a personal process that varies from teacher to teacher. The Concerns-Based Adoption Model identifies seven stages of concern that teachers may experience, from awareness to refocusing ideas. Innovative staff development strategies include establishing organizational structures to support technological and…

The Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program is part of the Rural Education Achievement Program (REAP) that was authorized under Title VI, Part B of the "Elementary and Secondary Act of 1965" ("ESEA"), as amended by the "No Child Left Behind Act of 2001" ("NCLB"). The RLIS program provides additional funds…

Preparation and use of a written plan can increase the chance that people will do what has been planned using the ways selected and specified during the planning process. Program implementation plans should include the following elements: a review of product objectives and strategies; a statement of activities involved in meeting product…

Implementing an educational program on time is not as important as being properly prepared for implementation. The responses to a number of key questions can reveal whether the program has been adequately planned. Once the program is in operation it must be effectively evaluated. Successful evaluation requires a systematic, clear procedure that is…

Suggests that educational reform at the local level is often not implemented because of inadequate communication between politicians, planners, bureaucrats, and educators. Concludes that planners need to specify details of implementation, particularly the human dimension of that task and that senior bureaucrats must be brokers rather than…

All planning approaches require a result to be assessed. Images of the planning-implementation cycle's success or failure influence the planning process itself. This article attempts to identify the components that determine success and failure thresholds, develop a success-failure framework, apply the framework to analyze some basic planning…

Examines the limits of what constitutes "school improvement." Critically assesses whether large-scale reorganization initiatives in two (British) local education agencies embody elements of a school-improvement initiative. Policy makers could maximize such initiatives' potential by incorporating a school-improvement focus into their…

Discusses three areas essential in reporting on school improvement plans: process, which refers to the legitimacy of procedures used to assess the improvement plan; equity, pertaining to methods that show both low- and high-achieving students benefiting from the plan; and reporting, which refers to clarity of presentation. (JDI)

This paper presents the third part of the "Massachusetts Primer on Special Education and Charter Schools." Part III addresses the issues concerning the education of students with disabilities at all stages in the development and operation of a Massachusetts charter school. The information is intended to inform those who are responsible…

This book takes readers through the steps that school personnel encounter in planning and developing a middle school. Chapter 1 outlines the rationale, origin, advantages, functions, and tasks of a middle school, along with setting parameters for its unique identity. Chapter 2 identifies the target population, emerging adolescents, and their…

This report and update on the five-year plan for the Minneapolis, Minnesota public schools show what is proceeding as originally planned, what has been modified and why, what has been added, and who is responsible for what. A model for planning is followed by a progress report through June 1983, a chart listing each of the 121 action items in the…

The document stresses that planning is essential to introduce arts programs into the schools and provides suggestions for the planning process. Elements of a good planning process include clearly stated goals and objectives, efficient use of existing resources, a survey of local conditions, involvement of influential school officials and community…

Educators devoted to school reform focus all too often on the isolated components of K-12 education. The author of this book contends that the focus really should be on the interdependence of variables that affect student learning, both inside and outside the classroom. The book is divided into three parts. Part 1 introduces the Four Cycles Model…