This paper describes school restructuring efforts undertaken since 1991 in the Virginia Beach Public Schools (Virginia). These efforts are based on a resolution adopted by the school board in December 1991, which supported the implementation of school-based management and shared decision making. Several common restructuring themes were shared by…

Policy and program options for economic revitalization in the Southeast region of the United States through educational reform, with a focus on improving the learning experiences of middle-range high school students (30th to 70th percentile on standardized tests), are discussed. The study examined the ways in which state and local school districts…

This state education plan is designed to improve the effectiveness and quality of the educational experiences of all students in Minnesota. Across-the-board improvements and major reforms in policies, programs, and practices are needed to restructure the way schools operate, children are taught, and parents and community members are involved in…

This book is a case study of the Chicago (Illinois) Public Schools 1980s reform movement imposed from the outside through legislation. The first chapter describes why school reform was necessary in Chicago. Chapter 2 focuses on a single high school in that system and shows the difficulties in trying to improve its performance. Chapter 3 describes…

Prepared as background for participants in an exploratory conference, this paper examines whether school-business partnerships and other forms of business assistance are contributing to fundamental change and reform, in the education system. Five questions are investigated. (1) How are businesses currently working with public education? The four…

This paper, which provides a summary of an exploratory conference on school-business partnerships, relies heavily on a background paper for the conference disseminated as Occasional Paper #1. The current status of school-business partnerships is divided into the major categories of adopt-a-school programs, school improvement and support…

Chicago's city leaders, unlike other city leaders, are going after fundamental and radical restructuring of the nation's third largest school system, but have found that it is hard to achieve. This paper provides a snapshot of the growing political involvement of Chicago's business leadership with the city's troubled school system. The need for…

Following the Kentucky Supreme Court's 1989 ruling that declared the state's common school system unconstitutional, lawyers and educators sued the state legislature for failure to provide an efficient school system. The role of litigation and lawyers in Kentucky education reform is examined in this paper. Part 1 describes how a group of lawyers…

General guidelines for companies interested in supporting school-based restructuring are offered in this booklet. Following a brief review of the nature and types of partnerships, chapter 2 examines partnerships within the context of school restructuring outcomes and identifies some essential components for developing a reform-model partnership.…

The nation's Governors resolved to lead restructuring efforts in their states as part of their commitment to achieve the national education goals by the year 2000. States are experimenting with a range of approaches to restructuring, depending on their resources, demographics, governance structures, and traditions. This report describes states'…

The major purposes of the School Improvement Resources Inquiry USA project (SIRIUS-A project) are to identify schools throughout the country, that are restructuring; to identify the kinds of structural changes being implemented; and to identify the kinds of change processes being used to plan and implement the restructuring. Some of the 62 schools…

This case study of the effects of school restructuring on at-risk students focused on the grade 11 Humanitas Program at seven Los Angeles schools. Humanitas was initiated to improve the humanities education of average students in urban schools with a large minority population. The following measures were used to compare Humanitas students with…

To discover how school restructuring affects teachers' work and teacher engagement, a study was conducted on eight schools that have been experimenting with alternative structures, programs, and activities for 7 to 10 years, The data presented were collected in two of the schools through observations of 15 classes and interviews with teachers,…

An account of the first year of Chicago's school reform effort as experienced in a predominantly Hispanic school is presented. The ethnicity of actors in each level of the restructuring effort is examined to develop an organizing framework to explain how interaction between these "layers" influences policy making and program…

The differences and similarities between education and the private sector are analyzed as they both engage in efforts to fundamentally restructure their operations. To bridge the cultural gap between business and education, a workable strategy that advances direct and sustained private-sector involvement in education reform is proposed. Part 1 of…