Improving the Russian economy depends in part on having well-educated and energetic personnel, and this is being hindered by universities in which there is an aging professoriate and students enrolled in specialties that are not in demand by employers. Higher education is expected not only to conduct programs of specialist training in order to…

Of the cadre of non-educators--business leaders, military men, government officials, lawyers--who have been called on to transform large urban school districts in recent years, Paul Vallas has been at it the longest and, in the minds of many, is the one with the best track record. Since 1995, he has tackled the third- and eighth-largest districts…

Principals manage schools, ensuring that nothing interrupts business as usual. They spend little time on instruction. A good principal is the one who works in a high-achieving school that has no significant management problems. Districts celebrate improved student results by recognizing an outstanding crop of students, rarely pointing to the…

The Conception of the Modernization of Russian Education has as its objective that of ensuring the anticipatory development of the training of highly qualified workers in the primary and secondary link. This article describes the efforts of the Russian government to improve the quality, accessibility, and effectiveness of professional education…

Virginia state officials selected the University of Virginia to run a training program that will let an experienced school leader earn a credential as a "turnaround specialist." This strategy, borrowed from the corporate world, is meant to form an elite cadre of school leaders that are able to jump-start improvement in low-performing…

In Colorado, a project was developed to teach participants a collaborative planning process for staff development and to assist in the design of a system of personnel development. Areas covered included: (1) selection of cadre members; (2) participation; (3) program design; and (4) consultants' reflections. (JN)

In 655 schools in 27 states, the Literacy Collaborative aims to improve elementary students' literacy achievement. A trained literacy coordinator trains other teachers and provides in-class coaching. Systematic collection of data on every child and data utilization by all program participants support continuous school improvement and create a…

This model for an inservice program designed to provide training in peer coaching for teachers contains information sheets on the following: (1) elements of an effective program; (2) program purpose; (3) program components; (4) program content; (5) program assessment; (6) what teachers say about peer coaching; (7) why coach; (8) preconditions for…

A project was conducted to develop a Career Education Teacher Training Corps model for local district staff development and district program planning and development. Seven training modules were developed which provide a comprehensive planning and staff development system that can be adapted for use in a variety of educational settings. These…

School districts have attempted to integrate their efforts at school improvement with concepts and techniques of organization development. Some of them have approached the problem of continuous change with the help of an internal cadre of peers who offer organization development services to their school districts. The following school districts…

An evaluation is presented of the Collaborative Consultation Support System Program (CCSSP) which was developed to provide support to public schools in need of assistance. The school in which the program was established consisted of students who were mostly from poor and culturally diverse families. For the purpose of improving instruction, 18…

Methods and curriculum used to train teachers at the Irvine (California) Unified School District in computer literacy are described. A cadre of teachers already familiar with computers conducted training for colleagues. (PP)

A Macomb County, Michigan, school district trained a cadre of local teachers to lead stress reduction workshops at individual schools. The program's effects at several schools are described, along with suggestions for using the "training of trainers" approach with other topics in education. (PP)

This study examined the roles, functions, and effectiveness of a group of teachers who became Instructional Leaders (ILs), assuming major responsibility for assuring the implementation of a voluntary school improvement program within their respective schools. The program, called SITIP (School Improvement Through Instructional Process), and…

A description is given of the Regional Partnership Program, a field-responsive, center-specific model established at the University of Northern Iowa, designed to oversee clinical field experiences for student teachers. The model involves six regional districts specifically located across the state which serve as the administrative units for the…