This article examines whether centrally developed initiatives at the state level have an impact on how districts in the U.S. think about their role in providing direction and support for student learning, and also examines how districts view the strategies that state governments use to initiate change at the local level. Our focus is on smaller…

Through its engagement with grantees on initiatives to improve school leadership, The Wallace Foundation came to recognize the important role that state organizations play in advancing effective leadership in districts and schools as well as the importance of coordination among state- and district-level policies. The authors have recently…

Improving the nation's public schools is one of the highest priorities of federal, state, and local government in America. Recent research has shown that the quality of the principal is, among school-based factors, second only to the quality of the teacher in contributing to what students learn in the classroom. The Wallace Foundation, which has…

The Research and Development Exchange (RDx) is a network of regional educational laboratories and university-based research and development centers working to support state and local school improvement efforts. Primary recipients of the services of all regional exchanges are dissemination specialists in state education agencies. The Northwest…

The Oregon state Title I office has developed two needs assessment guidebooks to assist districts in complying with Title I needs assessment regulations. The first guidebook was developed in 1974. Following its dissemination, needs assessment procedures in Title I districts were closely monitored for compliance with the regulations, and it was…

A proposed plan for environmental education for the State of Oregon, aimed at coordinating existing environmental education programs and implementing new ones, is contained in this document. Five areas of particular concern are emphasized. These include: Program and Curriculum Development, Teacher Training, Educational Facilities, Community…

This paper reviews a descriptive model that attempts to build a relationship between funding and school effectiveness. The model describes schools in terms of their component parts. The model allows policymakers to make assumptions about how much improvement in student performance should be expected as a result of changes in funding. It also…

In order to insure a measure of consistency in the area of personnel relations, while retaining the flexibility necessary to meet local needs, the Oregon Board of Education has published this list of guidelines for personnel policy formulation in the Oregon community colleges. Based on statutory authority, the guidebook outlines required personnel…

This booklet is designed to aid Oregon school district staff members in developing goal-based instructional planning systems that meet the revised minimum standards adopted by the Oregon State Board of Education in June 1976. Under the revised standards, Oregon school districts must develop 1) districtwide educational goals, 2) program goals…

In Oregon, schools licensed by the Department of Education serve a broad base of occupational training needs and are governed by broadly stated and permissive legislation. It is the loose construction of statutes that gives the Department's Advisory Committee its purpose. The Committee and the Department jointly set standards of operation for the…

COMMUNITY COLLEGES IN OREGON, HAVING RESOURCES AND FLEXIBILITY TO MEET MANY DEMANDS FOR POST-HIGH SCHOOL EDUCATION, ARE INTENDED TO OFFER BROAD, COMPREHENSIVE PROGRAMS IN BOTH ACADEMIC AND VOCATIONAL FIELDS. THEY SHOULD BE (1) LOCAL, WITHIN COMMUTING RANGE FOR MOST OF THEIR STUDENTS, (2) OPEN TO ALL WHO CAN PROFIT FROM THEIR PROGRAMS, (3) PART OF…

This article describes the Valley Education Consortium, a long-term, ongoing school-university partnership to achieve concurrent improvements in secondary school curriculum and assessment. The partnership consists of 10 school districts in western Oregon, three county education service districts, the Oregon State University-Western Oregon State…

For five years running, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) has tracked states' teacher policies, preparing a detailed and thorough compendium of teacher policy in the United States on topics related to teacher preparation, licensure, evaluation, career advancement, tenure, compensation, pensions and dismissal. The 2011 State Teacher…

The 4-day school week offers solutions to the financial and instructional problems often faced by small rural schools. Two southern Oregon schools implemented the 4-day school week on a trial basis in 1982-83 and, along with five eastern Oregon districts, continue to use this schedule today. The primary purpose of the change to a 4-day week was…