This two part article discusses the actions that senior administrators can take to orchestrate system change. It focuses on data collected from one Ontario, Canada school district, Thames Valley District School Board (Thames Valley). The article builds upon previous research on large-scale reform, including such key issues as student-centered…

Facilitating schools to develop more collaborative cultures is seen as one of the major challenges in promoting teachers' continuing professional development. This article recounts how a fifteen-month project designed to promote greater collegial learning and professional development emerged and developed within one school. Evidence suggests that…

An electronic performance support system (EPSS) is a computerized system designed to increase productivity by supporting the performance of the worker on demand at the time of need. This way, workers are allowed to perform with a minimum of intervention from others. Popular examples of performance support tools, or partially implemented EPSSs,…

This guide offers a comprehensive set of practical tools to lead novice and veteran practitioners through the complexities of business process redesign. This hands-on kit integrates systems theory, economics, and psychology to provide the detailed procedures, checklists, data analysis worksheets, and other resources essential to identify, analyze,…

The processes of school improvement at the secondary level are not well understood. This report summarizes activities conducted during 1990-91 in the Asheboro (North Carolina) City Schools in cooperation with personnel at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. The partnership created Teacher Collegial Groups (TCGs), which were leadership…

The stated purpose of the Carl D. Perkins Vocational, Technical, and Applied Technology Act is to make the United States more competitive in the world economy by developing more fully the academic and occupational skills of all segments of the population. The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) proposes to achieve this purpose by…

This guide, intended to help rural educators improve their school or district, connects general knowledge about educational change efforts and knowledge about conditions and characteristics specific to rural education. Chapter 1 discusses common strengths and weaknesses of rural schools and describes values and social patterns in small schools and…

In April 1993, the Association of Research Libraries (ARL) conducted a survey of its members to update information gathered in 1991 about the existence of quality improvement programs and the use of quality improvement processes in research libraries. A total of 91 responses (76 percent) was received to the 13 questions of the survey. Fifteen (16…

A study examined implementation of the Redwood worker assistance programs implemented to help mitigate the loss of jobs by timber workers in Northern California upon expansion of the Redwood National Park in 1978. The benefits provided to workers under the Redwood Employee Protection Program (REPP) were generous. As of December 1988, REPP had…

The ideal school cafeteria includes a salad bar and serving tables with healthy food items. Certain cafeteria pitfalls, such as a noisy or stuffy atmosphere, can be avoided by good administration. Specific guidelines on campaigning for better school food consist of building a community coalition that holds public meetings, learning about the…

This monograph describes the origins and implementation of a Federal educational program, the Inquiry and Assistance Project (IAP), designed to improve urban public schools through the efforts of researchers and consultants in a research and development setting. The first section provides background information on the IAP study. Section two…

In nine chapters, this guide provides planners of professional development programs for school administrators, directors, and supervisors with background information for assistance with the design of local entry-year programs and activities by employing school systems. In chapter 1, the legal basis for entry year programs is examined through a…

In rural Minnesota many school districts are limited in their efforts to restructure by low enrollment, rural geographic location, meager tax base, narrow staff experience, extensive job responsibilities for staff, restricted staff development opportunities, and lack of direction in curriculum coordination. Because of actual or perceived…

A pilot program, the Professional Growth Experience (PGE), was designed and implemented by teacher educators from three Wisconsin teacher education programs to improve the guidance skills of cooperating teachers during their actual supervision of student teachers. Each PGE seminar enrolls no more than 10 currently engaged cooperating teachers and…

This document is a stand-alone training package for staff development providers in rural small schools. Based on research and best-practice information, the school improvement model used promotes cooperation, content transferability, and adaptations for long-term program maintenance. The underlying assumptions of the model are that when school…