A study examined rural school administrators' perceptions of their jobs and how academic achievement and school climate were affected at rural schools that shared principals, compared to rural schools that had their own principal. Sixteen rural school administrators from across the nation were interviewed about their perceptions of their jobs, and…

One of the most enduring challenges facing the public school system is decreasing the dropout rate. The highest rate of growth population in the future will be among the groups who are at greatest risk of dropping out of school. This paper outlines what school officials can do to decrease the dropout rate. The suggestions for dropout prevention…

This paper reports on a comparative study of the use of asynchronous (bulletin board) and synchronous (chat) discussion on three learning units based on the cognitive maps developed by the learners. Cognitive maps have been found to be an effective tool for learners for discussion in a distributed learning environment. Cognitive maps provided…

This paper documents a single year in the history of Navajo education from the perspective of the Navajo Agent Dennis Matthew Riordan. It draws on Riordan's correspondence, 1882-83, with the Secretary of the Interior, with Captain Richard Henry Pratt at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, and with his brother. In December 1882, Riordan arrived…

This paper is directed to policy and practice leaders interested in making urban secondary and postsecondary learning environments more widely available, especially to young people who have not been well-served by the large, impersonal high schools dominating most cities. Section 1, "Coming of Age in a Time of Economic and Demographic Change,"…

This study examined secondary school teachers' perceptions of their school-level environment and its influence on implementation of outcomes-based education (OBE). Participating schools were in South Africa's Limpopo Province (one of its poorest rural provinces) and were implementing Curriculum 2005, a new outcomes-based approach to teaching and…

Boston Pilot Schools were created in 1994 to promote increased choice options within the school district. Unlike most urban public schools, the Pilot Schools have control over budget, staffing, curriculum, governance, and time, though they continue to operate within the Boston Public Schools. This report examines quantitative indicators of Boston…

This report reviews efforts to reform urban schools, focusing on initiatives in Tennessee and California as examples from which distric leaders may draw useful lessons. The report suggests that comprehensive school reform (CSR) offers promise to struggling urban schools by focusing on transforming the academic climate, school culture, and…

The concept of school culture offers principals and other leaders a broader framework for understanding problems and relationships within the school. School culture can be defined as the historically transmitted patterns of meaning that include the norms, values, beliefs, and myths understood by members of the school community. Researchers have…

"Smaller is better" is often the mantra of school leaders with regard to class size, while the benefits of smaller schools are ignored. Benefits of small classes seem obvious--teachers with fewer students could devote more time to each student. Conducted in 1985-89, Tennessee's Project STAR (Student/Teacher Achievement Ratio) found that…

This 20-page issue explores the opportunity for creating 21st century learning environments that not only focus on different kinds of educational architecture but also emphasize how time is used, teacher-student relationships, collaboration, the benefits of real-world projects, and community involvement. In Minnesota, high school juniors and…

Driven in part by research findings in early childhood development, the academic, business, and policy communities now recognize that high-quality preschool programs are an important way to help children reach their full potential. Although some current research suggests that teacher preparation at the four-year college degree level is the best…

Six programs are profiled that garner both deep engagement and high achievement from young people. All build upon fundamental needs of adolescent life: to register positive impact upon the world, to feel respected and connected, and to construct one's own narrative. A community action initiative at a high school in Texas' Rio Grande Valley is…

School facilities needs in rural America and the means to meet them are affected by rural population trends, building inadequacies and obsolescence, and financial problems. Overall, America's schools have seen increased public school enrollments since the mid-1980s, but rural enrollments have declined, particularly in communities with fewer than…

Building an effective classroom for all boys and girls is the first step in increasing student achievement. This curriculum guide is a collection of practical tools for teachers and fun activities for kindergarten through twelfth-grade students, developed to help all students to succeed in the classroom. The curriculum is designed to be used…