A principal shares principles and practices involved in achieving excellence in a middle school. (DCS)

This paper, based on the author's experience as a superintendent of a successful Colorado school district, suggests means of strengthening a school district's public image. Simple measures are presented for (1) stimulating and maintaining parent involvement in district- and school-sponsored organizations, (2) improving communication with the…

Asserting that informing parents about the discipline policies and procedures in their children's schools will reduce misunderstandings and inappropriate expectations and encourage parent participation, this article outlines specific methods principals can use to communicate discipline information to parents. (PGD)

Both the design and image have an effect upon the success of an educational facility in that they affect motivation for both teaching and learning. The components of image include nondeceptive appearance, information availibility, logical location, attractiveness, personality, and human needs. Seven references are provided. (DCS)

Discusses a study of why 3,183 secondary school students and their families chose either single-sex or coeducational independent schools. Considers the personal, demographic, and educational characteristics of the students and their families and the students' gender. Reports that family traditions for private schooling and religious orientation…

This review of current research on parents' opinions about public schools provides information of interest to school boards, administrators, and parent leaders who wish to develop parent-community-school partnerships. This article discusses research done by organizations like the Public Agenda Foundation, the Gallup Poll, Phi Delta Kappa, and the…

As required by Assembly Bill 3848, the California State Department of Education has produced this report to help the Legislature determine whether it should promote a program to make nuclear age education more widely available in the public schools and, if so, what type of program would achieve the most desirable results. In preparing the report,…

Urges implementation of a 48-week school year offering an optional fourth quarter that could be used for remediation or enrichment. Describes the impact of such a year on students, on parents' schedules, on teachers' salaries and schedules, and on administration. Considers factors affecting public acceptance of such a change. (PGD)

Developing and pursuing a "vision" for school success is a crucial part of effective educational leadership. This document explores theoretical models of vision for school success and leadership forces in education; discusses principals as visionary leaders; offers practical advice on developing, implementing, and maintaining a vision for one's…

The School Subjects Attitude Scales were developed to measure student attitudes toward school subjects. It is intended for use in grades 5-12. Reliability estimates were sufficiently high to warrant using the Scales for responses of groups, but not with individuals. Various criteria confirmed the scales' validity. Large groups of public school…

This paper examines the views of economic and higher education leaders concerning the potential socio-economic importance to Americans of establishing continuing links between communities, colleges, and universities, and international students and alumni. A literature review is presented that examines: (1) the past relationship and importance of…

The environment or climate of a school is determined by more than its physical characteristics. Among the other factors affecting school environment are the school's philosophy, students, communications, teachers, discipline, parents, support services, issuance of awards, and special programs. A positive school environment can be fostered by…

As more government agencies request information and records from colleges and universities, it is important that all institutions establish standard procedures for handling such requests. Administrators should: learn the personality of the particular agency or office making the request; establish a professional, cooperative, non-adversarial…

A survey of 94 school boards across Canada provided information on recent developments in board handling of community relations programs. This report discussing the survey findings first notes that 85 percent of the surveyed boards expressed a need to find new, more effective strategies. The second part of the report explores methods used by…

One of a series of practitioner-oriented newsletters, the document provides elementary school principals with strategies for implementing effective public relations in the public schools. The article describes ways in which principals can assess their school's public relations needs, coordinate the various elements of communication, and evaluate…