Although the principal of a new school must tackle curriculum planning, staffing, and community relations, the greatest challenge is making sure the building opens smoothly and on time. A principal must be a key planner, an events coordinator, a good communicator, a maintenance supervisor, and a visionary leader. (MLH)

This article explores the changing roles of teachers and paraeducators, delineates responsibilities, and offers practical suggestions for educators and paraeducators in inclusive classrooms. In assigning tasks to paraeducators, teachers are urged to consider educational legislation, risks to students and to personnel, and competencies and skills…

Professor of Education Yetta M. Goodman discusses her realization that teachers should showcase and support students rather than being the center of attention themselves, the importance of teachers observing their students in various contexts, the degrading aspect of grades, and the rights and responsibilities of teachers as professionals to state…

The argument presented is that although work is one path toward improved well-being for poor families, a successful and humane social welfare policy must recognize and respond to its limitations. This article reviews specific propositions of prowork rhetoric and concludes that former welfare participants require a broad range of supports to move…

Describes a collaboration between a local youth arts organization, mobile home community residents, 6th grade students and teachers, professional artists, local agencies and businesses, and community members to create a playground and public arts space in a diverse, low-income mobile home community. Overall, students gained awareness of problems,…

Written while the author was a high school senior, this piece discusses the value of the combination of emotional lessons, those in patience, appreciation and reflection, along with traditional school lessons in order to make an unbelievably educational and worthwhile adventure. (BF)

Personal responsibility has long been considered an important component in self-directed learning. And yet, a theoretical understanding of personal responsibility that could lead to meaningful instrumentation has eluded the field. The present study considers the merits of the Triangle Model of Responsibility (TMR) (Schlenker, Britt, Pennington,…

While a great deal of information exists to help physical education teachers respond to the increasing cultural diversity in United States schools, these teachers have received little help regarding how to cope with linguistic diversity. It is the responsibility of all teachers not only to ensure that students who are English-language learners…

Federal and state education policy relies on the belief that student achievement will improve if schools have incentives and disincentives--rewards if they succeed, sanctions if they fail--to raise test scores in math, reading and science. But even if this were a practical way to elevate such scores, a test-based accountability system is still…

Administrators, teachers, staff, and other personnel must bear in mind that children are first and foremost our primary concern. As a result of increased accountability, administrators, faculty and personnel at all levels must posses the wisdom, deftness, and competence that heretofore may not have been required. It is of the utmost importance…

This chapter examines challenges and options available to community college presidents as their institutions increasingly rely on unstable revenue streams. Presidents, particularly those at institutions with limited access to strong local tax support, require new and expanded fiscal leadership skills.

In the twenty-first century, school improvement is the focal point for educational leadership, in which the school building administrator is recognized as the catalyst for this necessary improvement. Within the area of teacher evaluation, the evaluation tools, along with the amount of time, format, and feedback, have changed dramatically from the…

Student use of the Internet for such purposes as sharing and downloading illegal copies of music and movies presents new and complex challenges in the relationship between the institution and student. This article reviews the development of the file sharing phenomena; and through analysis of existing institutional responses, legal advice, media…

We implemented a series of three guided controversies to provide experience in environmental problem solving to students in a science course designed for nonmajors. Students wrote essays in response to their experiences in each controversy; we analyzed these essays for five problem-solving criteria. A questionnaire administered at the end of the…

There is mounting evidence that the majority of severe and chronic problem behaviors demonstrated by school-aged children and adolescents stem from behavior patterns that are established during early childhood. Without early identification and proactive prevention/intervention among young children at risk, problem behavior is likely to continue to…