Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the knowledge base on leading and facilitating the growth of school improvement networks by describing the activities and challenges faced by network leaders. Design/methodology/approach: A total of 19 co-leaders from 12 networks were interviewed using a semi-structured schedule about the growth of their…

A3 Thinking is fundamental to Toyota's benchmark management philosophy and to their lean production system. It is used to solve problems, gain agreement, mentor team members, and lead organizational improvements. A structured problem-solving approach, A3 Thinking builds improvement opportunities through experience. We used "The Toyota…

This book contains 17 papers, chosen from those presented within the last 2 years at the annual National Conference on Creating the Quality School, hosted by the Center for the Study of Small/Rural Schools at the University of Oklahoma. The papers are grouped into three sections: leadership for school improvement; classroom practices for school…

The problem of poor school climate in an eighth- and ninth-grade center was addressed by the implementation of a school climate improvement project. The following are the primary goals of this practicum: (1) improve school attendance; (2) reduce out-of-school suspensions; and (3) improve student and teacher morale. To address these goals, a…

The California Community Colleges' (CCC) Flexible Calendar Program (FCP) allows districts to allocate up to 15 instructional days from the 175-day academic calendar to engage in staff, student, and instructional improvement activities. The CCC Board of Governors' Task Force on Flexible Calendar, drawing from three sources (i.e., program growth…

Materials related to Hudson's Bay High School's (Vancouver, Washington) program to improve school effectiveness are presented. On the first page are enumerated six steps that were taken to implement the program, including the administration of an Effective Schools Evaluation Instrument asking faculty to identify needed improvements. Eight teams…

This report evaluates the effectiveness of the Attendance Improvement Dropout Prevention (AIDP) program during the 1987-88 school year, which provided services to New York City (New York) middle school students at risk of becoming truant or dropping out of school. Chapter 1, "Introduction," contains the following sections: (1)…

This sourcebook provides information for educators and community leaders involved in dropout prevention planning. The indexed, looseleaf notebook places boldface keywords in each entry's upper right-hand corner. Thirteen sections contain summaries of sources and ordering procedures. Section A deals with general reports and literature reviews;…

This report describes activities of the program TRAILS (Training and Assistance for Indian Library Services), funded from September 1985 to January 1987 by Title II, Part B of the Higher Education Act, to provide training, guidance, and direction to 506 American Indian tribes and Alaskan Native communities for improvement of public library and…

Perspectives on a greater partnership between education and business/industry are offered. The goal of this partnership is to achieve educational excellence. To accomplish this, greater participation of business and industry in the universities' educational preparation programs is needed. It is necessary to define role responsibilities for a…

Programs that have enhanced the teaching profession are described, as part of a competition sponsored by the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (Showcase for Excellence Project). Member institutions of the association developed program models in seven categories requiring initiatives and innovation in the teaching profession.…

Although ability partly explains why some students are eager to learn in school whereas others are disinterested, motivation is another significant factor. This newsletter discusses factors that affect students' motivation to learn, considers techniques that can increase motivation, and identifies schools that have developed activities to enhance…

This module of the staff training series deals with the practical problems that arise when setting a framework for effective staff development, by concentrating on a number of experiential activities for accomplishing the staff development mission. Presented among the strategies for accomplishing total staff development are field trips to work…

On the average, 10 percent of District of Columbia Public School (DCPS) students--approximately 8,500 students--are absent from school each day. In order to combat truancy, which often leads to dropping out, DCPS developed the Truancy Prevention Plan, part of a Comprehensive Plan for School Attendance Improvement, which was implemented between…

The focus of this paper is the preparation for and the improvement of teaching as a craft. The author hypothesizes that, in order to improve the art of teaching, the notion of problem solving as a daily routine, access to resource allocation, and a change in the ethos of teaching to include a mastery of the craft and cooperative efforts among the…