The purpose of this qualitative, narrative study was to investigate the perceptions of successful small-school superintendents in regard to maintaining or improving district efficiency and financial status. Face-to-face interviews were conducted with seven purposefully selected small-school superintendents. Findings suggest that in their efforts…

The Oregon Statewide Report Card is an annual publication required by law (ORS 329.115), which reports on the state of public schools. The purpose of the Statewide Report Card is to monitor trends among school districts and Oregon's progress toward achieving the goals referred to in ORS 329.015. In addition, this report provides a tool that makes…

The 2021 edition of the Annual Condition of Education Report (COE) marks the 32nd edition of the report. For over 30 years, the Department has published the COE in order to provide education stakeholders critical data about the status of Iowa's education system. The 2021 COE covers a wide variety of content including information about Iowa's…

Since the 1999 Columbine High School shooting school administrators have been tasked with creating positive education environments while also maximizing the safety of the students and staff. However, limited resources require school administrators to only employ safety policies which are actually effective in reducing crime. In order to help…

Everyone agrees that schools should ensure a positive school climate. Less agreement exists, however, about what this means and how to accomplish it. This is especially so when the call is for developing a safe and supportive environment that also is nurturing and caring and that provides all students with an equal opportunity to succeed. Equity…

A significant and growing English learner (EL) population attends public schools in the United States. Evidence suggests they are at a disadvantage when entering school and their achievement lags behind non-EL students. Some educators have promoted full-day kindergarten programs as especially helpful for EL students. We take advantage of the large…

In this empirical study, teacher reported knowledge, use, preparation, and importance of higher-level thinking summative assessment questions were analyzed. This study was conducted using a survey distributed to seven Minnesota high schools that represented urban, suburban, and rural settings. Survey responses were cross tabulated with demographic…

The purpose of this study was to compare the perceptions of Texas Public School superintendents and school board presidents on the importance of leadership characteristics of the superintendency. The questionnaire used in this study was developed by Dr. Douglas D. Wilson and modified by the researcher. Responses to a Likert Scale instrument and…

The purpose of this study was to investigate public school administrators' perceptions of their level of ethics with respect to the amount of turbulence perceived on campus. In addition, ethical decision making processes and ethics training, based on the recommendations of the participants in the study was investigated. Survey research was used to…

The purpose of this research was to capture and analyze perceptions of Texas superintendents practicing in the 2008-2009 school year regarding their professional development at Texas Regional Education Service Centers (RESCs) in the area of leading student achievement. Superintendents statewide were surveyed and results analyzed using Analysis of…

This "Informed Educator" examines the use of small learning communities to address the disadvantages of large, comprehensive schools in a cost effective manner. The different types of small learning communities are described, and the research on both small schools and small learning communities is discussed. Lastly, issues that should be addressed…

School construction remains high, but not as high as it has been over the last eight years. Projections for the future (projects expected to be completed and/or started in 2009) show a significant decline. Capital budgets may be in place, but the economic hard times and forced cuts in many local school programs are having an effect on construction…

Nonprofit child care centers are frequently observed to produce child care which is, on average, of higher quality than care provided in commercial child care centers. In part, this nonprofit advantage is due to different input choices made by nonprofit centers--lower child--staff ratios, better-educated staff and directors, higher rates of…

This study explores within-district fiscal resource allocation across elementary schools in Texas and Ohio large city school districts and in their surrounding metropolitan areas. Specifically, I ask whether districts widely reported as achieving greater resource equity through adoption of Weighted Student Funding (WSF) have in fact done so. I…

This paper investigates student social capital in Norwegian secondary schools and its effects on student achievement. Using data from the national survey "Young in Norway 2002", it explores the concept and measurement of social capital in the school context by applying factor analysis. The paper also tests an analytical model that links…