The implementation of the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act has had many positive effects on students in schools today. The results have been less positive, however, for high-achieving students. Teachers often focus their instruction on students who need the most help, leaving little time to meet the academic or emotional needs of gifted students.…

All children can learn. When principals and faculties fully embrace this core belief and demonstrate it to students, parents, and each other, significant improvements in academic performance can result. However, while it is certainly true that all children are capable of academic success, it is also true that learning occurs at different rates.…

Although education cannot remedy nonacademic ailments such as racial prejudice, schools can certainly resolve learning problems deriving from miseducation. This article argues that rotating elementary students from one teacher and classroom to another for different subjects is an emerging practice exposing young children to needless risk. (MLH)

A major organizational change is necessary to promote more equitable and effective instructional grouping schemes in schools. A palatable restructuring alternative that combines effective grouping with the flexibility to meet each school's needs is parallel block scheduling. This system capitalizes on teachers' strengths, promotes greater mixing…

A comparison of half-day and full-day schedules for kindergarten students in Aurora, Ohio, revealed that neither schedule significantly affected scores on tests of behavior and academic achievement, but the full-day schedule proved more satisfactory to parents and teachers. (PGD)

Responding to David Elkind's article in the May 1988 issue of "Principal," this article reexamines classroom rotation for elementary students, challenges Elkind's argument against this practice, and proposes rotation as a way to increase students' options through team teaching. Includes two references. (MLH)

Instead of cutting art, music, or physical education, the usual victims of budgetary shortfalls, the principal and staff of a New Hampshire elementary school balanced their 1981 budget by adopting a "temporary" Monday-Thursday schedule that remains operational today. The four-day week has brought a dramatic drop in teacher absenteeism…

Attempting to respond to differing community opinions about an all-day kindergarten in a period of budget problems, Superintendent Robert L. Zorn helped institute a program in which the afternoon session was optional, to be supported by a $100 "lab fee." (JM)

Genuine school reform demands the redistribution of staff, space, and time within individual schools. Parallel block scheduling lets each teacher work with smaller groups of students daily. Sample scheduling and reading placements are provided. Includes 10 references. (MLH)

The author presents a number of factors that underscore the educational advantages of focusing on a Pre-K-3 school configuration, including the need for less remediation and more productive learning in the upper elementary and secondary grades. He describes a self-contained Pre-K-3 continuum, including universal pre-kindergarten and full-day…

Middle school scheduling is a major instructional activity reflecting understanding of human growth and development, agreed-on school objectives and purposes, and available human and physical resources. (Author/JM)

Considerations ranging from lunch counter heights to bus schedules, parent workshops, and adjustment periods must concern principals implementing full-day kindergartens. Many schools will also face doubled art supply budgets and increased staffing costs for specialized library, physical education, music, and art education services. (four…

An examination of pullouts--the practice of withdrawing certain elementary school students from their classrooms, usually for specialized instruction, field trips, assemblies, or school projects. Includes historical background, a study of curriculum effects, study guidelines, and solutions to pullout problems. (DCS)

A recent study of schooling in five nations with well-developed educational systems (Canada, Denmark, England, Germany, and Japan) reveals that most of them share important characteristics not generally found in American schools. Results suggest that U.S. elementary educators should reconfigure school-year length, vacation time, and the pace of…

Moving from a traditional to a balanced, year-round calendar is as much a philosophical as a schedule change. A balanced calendar, with a variety of intersession activities providing opportunities for advancement and enrichment, can help facilitate student learning and minimize time spent reviewing previously learned subject matter. (MLH)