In districts committed to site-based management, principals expect to have a great degree of authority in staff selection. A principal maintains that, if district administrators must make the occasional staff selection decision, then the principals should at least be consulted before the final decision is made. (MLF)

Offers perspectives on meaningful restructuring, drawn from years of experience with the nonprofit Community Training and Assistance Center in Boston. Relying on remedial reforms or additional program layers is generally counterproductive. Meaningful (systemic) restructuring moves simultaneously from the top of the hierarchy downward and from the…

A questionnaire mailed to a stratified random sample of 4,800 school executives elicited 1,509 responses (31 percent). School-based management is favored by 91 percent of the principals--compared with only 80 percent of the superintendents. Contains information on how the 1989 survey of school executives was conducted. (MLF)

Some principals are threatened by school-based management. School systems adopting school-based management should have a training program for principals and limit initial involvement to those principals who are attracted to increased autonomy and control over their schools' budgets. (MLF)

It is difficult to assemble the necessary conditions for school-based management when staff are struggling with basic civility. A New Jersey superintendent proceeded slowly while recognizing that things could go wrong and providing staff with needed conflict-resolution tools. School and district councils helped diffuse acrimony and motivate staff…

As more school systems adopt site-based management, local decision makers need greater access to all kinds of information. Microcomputer-based networks can help with classroom management, scheduling, student program design, counselor recommendations, and financial reporting operations. Administrators are provided with planning tips and a sample…

Under school-based management, principals are there to help staff members make the best possible decisions. The principal's job involves six discernable roles: (1) facilitator; (2) trainer; (3) expert adviser; (4) resource coordinator; (5) communicator; and (6) advocate. (MLF)

Sharing decision making with teachers and parents actually increases the principal's influence. Offers 10 steps to translate leadership skills into school restructuring. (MLF)

Respondents to the 1989 survey of school executives indicated the complexity of implementing school-based management by giving multiple responses when asked to select the most serious obstacle to school-based management. (MLF)

A pilot program in school-based management in Prince William County, Virginia, gave principals at five schools their share of the school system's budget to allocate. (MLF)

Describes what is happening with school-based management in the public school systems of Dade and Sarasota Counties, Florida; and Savannah Chatham County, Georgia. (MLF)

With a $30,000 Carnegie Foundation grant, a Baltimore middle school launched a school-improvement team comprised of teacher representatives and "house" principals from "schools-within-schools," parents, community members, and the principal. After 4 years of tackling test scores, attendance, curriculum, scheduling, and parental…

Despite his legendary exploits, Odysseus' approach to leadership would render today's educational leaders ineffectual. Successful school administrators nurture their team's good ideas, monitor the environment, stay flexible and alert, study history, and remain responsible. Advocates of site-based management must also beware competing priorities,…

Summarizes events at the 76th annual meeting of the National Association of Secondary School Principals in February 1992. Although innovation was a hot topic, so were budget problems and "administrivia" threats to school-based management. Other topics included learning styles, business-school partnerships, school choice, and public aid…

The principal of a partly restructured elementary school describes effective tactics for starting the process. These include teaching and demonstrating change, making change pay (by rewarding teachers for making risky changes), picking a focus or mission, and involving everybody. Although the process is not complete and some costs are unknown, the…