The role of staff development in establishing charactertistics of an effective school was examined in order to illuminate associations. A framework was used to categorize these characteristics into three critical dimensions. Two consistent patterns emerged that are described and used to present broad guidelines for the conduct of staff…

Because past educational reform movements were stimulated by events not directly related to schools, the movements' leaders have lacked dependable information about schools' actual effectiveness. This article faults past commissions for their omissions and impractical solutions. Real school improvement happens when school staff and parents…

To assess effective school leadership behavior and enhance staff development programs, the DeKalb County, Georgia, School District developed the Profile for Assessment of Leaders (PAL), which contains eight generic competency areas and uses low-inference data obtained by supervisors, subordinates, and administrators being evaluated. Preliminary…

Lincoln Elementary School, north of Milwaukee, stands out even in a good school district. The parent-school relationship is open, the teachers share ideas with each other, and the principal encourages input from teachers. (MT)

The Akron Public Schools conduct three interrelated programs for principals to ensure school improvement. They are Administrative Supervision Workshops, /I/D/E/A/ Principals Inservice Program, and Operation Curriculum for School Improvement. The programs, and how they overlap, are described. (MT)

Clarifies the magazine's editorial policy of rejecting the proposition that equity and excellence represent two poles of a single continuum. Rather, each concept is a separate dimension. (LHW)

Provides an essay review of "How Schools Work" (Barr and Dreeben, 1983). Maintains that the book is important because it focuses on the role of the curriculum and the multilevel nature of schooling, two important aspects of education which school effectiveness research has largely ignored. (JDH)

To exert leadership in schools, principals need to understand how to influence teachers. Using established bases of social power, this study examined how principals in "effective" and other elementary and middle schools gained influence over their teachers. Acting as an expert emerged as the most important influence-gaining behavior.…

The Effective Teaching and Supervision of Instruction program developed at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay is described. This program is based on Madeline Hunter's clinical theory of instruction. (MT)

Tritt Elementary School, a K-5 school in Marietta, Georgia, has a building designed in accordance with teachers' suggestions. Teachers are all treated with respect, most students do well academically, and parents are involved. (MT)

Dick Curland, principal of Valley View Elementary School in Portland, Connecticut, enhances his effectiveness by maintaining high visibility, communicating clearly and frequently with others, supporting his staff, and developing positive personal contact with individual students. (PGD)

The Secondary School Recognition Program was developed to select outstanding secondary schools. This committee found that the schools chosen for excellence in education shared several attributes including high community support and involvement. (DF)

A major focus in Phase III of the Louisiana School Effectiveness Study is on the relationship between classroom interaction patterns and school effectiveness. Early results are discussed. (Author/MT)

Presents a design for school improvement programs particularly responsive to young adolescents. Discusses the Middle Grades Assessment Program, designed to help middle grade schools use their own resources to deal effectively with situations. Includes case studies. (JOW)

The School Improvement Project of the Institute for the Development of Educational Activities, first instituted in 1980, offers high schools a method for selecting and implementing recommended changes from among the many proposed in recent reports on high school improvement. (JBM)