The Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico-Rural Systemic Initiative (UCAN-RSI) supports standards-based reform in mathematics, technology, and science education for rural students in its states. This guide provides UCAN schools and communities with a set of measures that describe the location of a school/community on the developmental continuum of…

A study of instructional change in three schools reveals that a change strategy should take advantage of existing communication networks. Where there is little interdependence among teachers, administrators need to encourage its growth and replace the egg crate form of organization with arrangements that increase teacher interaction. (MLF)

Describes a successful school-wide reading program at one high school which sought to change students' attitudes toward reading. Discusses envisioning the program, promoting it, gathering momentum, and ensuring its continued success. (SR)

Shows how five key dimensions of efficient production organizations have been applied directly to improving school productivity through a national school reform effort, the Accelerated Schools Project. Substantial productivity gains can be obtained at a marginal cost (less than 1% of the school budget) through transforming schools to improve their…

Conflicts often are symptoms, not causes, of organizational problems. As school budgets shrink, the budget process becomes a battlefield. A systematic approach to revising the budget process involves clarifying the school vision, identifying leadership, clarifying participants' roles, organizing processes, exploring history, implementing change,…

Describes the stages of the change process when redesigning an education system: (1) initiating the process, (2) designing the new system, (3) planning the implementation, and (4) implementing the design. The common obstacles encountered during the change process (derived from a survey of 60 schools nationwide) are analyzed, and the status of each…

Describes an assistant superintendent's experience in developing and implementing similar school reform plans in two high school settings. The less affluent but more successful school tied its restructuring plans to Coalition of Essential Schools principles. The key elements for success were energy, vision, and faculty and community commitment.…

Suggests that systemic child welfare reforms must ultimately encompass all systems that serve vulnerable families and children. Argues that in addition to developing new approaches to service, current reform initiatives should also demonstrate the feasibility of using existing data for longitudinal analyses that are critical to evaluating…

The implementation of bilingual and English-as-a-Second-Language programs in public schools was examined as part of a larger study on school district personnel's perceptions of change and roles played in change efforts within school systems. Results suggest a need for more sophisticated knowledge of program implementation techniques. (10…

Discusses ways in which educational technologists can help educators accept changes in schools that are occurring through the use of technology. Characteristics of people involved in change are described; and a framework for implementing innovations is presented, including supportive organizational arrangements, training, consultation and…

A survey of middle-level teachers in rural and remote South Dakota schools found that teachers generally supported middle-school concepts but felt professionally isolated and limited by scarce resources. Principals can help by providing inservice education and staff development, alternative scheduling for increased collaboration, and encouragement…

This article reanalyzes the principle of partial participation in integrated educational programing for students with severe or profound disabilities. The article presents four "error patterns" in how the concept has been used, some reasons why such error patterns have occurred, and strategies for avoiding these errors. (Author/JDD)

Discusses 10 major school change strategies engaging the author's energy, beginning with training in group dynamics in the 1950s through today's emphasis on school restructuring. Other strategies included innovation diffusion and transfer, organizational self-renewal, knowledge transfer, creation of new schools, supported implementation, local…

Draws parallels between the educational reform movement of the Coalition of Essential Schools and revitalization movements, using the revitalization framework as a process model to clarify issues and tensions of school change efforts. The importance of simultaneous documentation and alternative change models is emphasized. (SLD)

Under the Post-Primary Project, Trinidad and Tobago may legitimately claim to have achieved some educational expansion under difficult economic circumstances. Although top-down curriculum management and a strong remediation emphasis limited program success, the school clustering concept, along with increased vocational training, offers a promising…