This article is the fifth in a yearlong series by the public policy department that will more closely examine the recommendations made in ACTE's high school reform position statement. The fifth recommendation in ACTE's high school reform position statement is to create incentives for students to pursue the core curriculum in an interest-based…

Noting the current push for rigor in secondary school curriculums (the lead member of the "new three Rs" of rigor, relevance, and relationships), Washor and Mojkowksi take a closer look at the prevailing conception of rigor. They argue that a narrowly defining a rigorous curriculum as one with more advanced courses and more factual content…

Purpose: "If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound with mine, then come, let's work together". These words of Lill Watson, an indigenous activist, frame the context for this article. The purpose of this research was to examine the historical evolution of "grassroots movement…

To understand the role of the media in schooling and school reform, it is necessary to examine how the media collude in the construction of the political spectacle, which Edelman (1988) called a meaning machine of alternative realities. The media uses spectacle to generate points of view, perceptions, anxieties, aspirations, and strategies to…

The increased emphasis on standards-based school accountability since the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is focusing critical attention on the professional development of school principals and their ability to meet the challenges of improving student outcomes. While rural school districts are dealing with many of the same issues…

School restructuring is a process of reform that attempts to reconcile idealistic aspirations of educators with the realities of large public schools. While most educators have high expectations for their students, the impersonal structure of public schools is an obstacle to achieving these goals. In order to be effective, teachers must know the…

Maryland's school finance system experienced a restructuring in 2002 with the passage of SB 856, the "Bridge to Excellence Act." The "Bridge" Act set the funding amount for "base" students, brought state funding for kindergarten students on par with students in grades 1-12, and collapsed about 50 school funding…

Throughout the history of publicly-funded voucher programs--enacted and proposed--the impact on taxpayers has been a recurring issue. As the nation's longest-running program, the Milwaukee Parent Choice Program (MPCP) provides an important case study. The fiscal impact of Milwaukee's program has evolved in very significant ways over its 18-year…

Background/Context: The U.S. federal government has been interested in improving the performance of students who come from low-income homes since the time of Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" initiatives in the 1960s. The current administration strongly supports the belief that good schools can be created and has funded the Comprehensive…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine and compare the school excellence model (SEM) approach adopted by Singapore and the school-based management (SBM) approach adopted by Hong Kong. It discusses the implications of such a strategy and the challenges that both Singapore and Hong Kong schools face in navigating a new paradigm of managerialism while…

The Colorado Strategic Options Initiative promotes the restructuring and redesign of education to enable all schools and communities to meet all students' and citizens' needs in the future. The concept of restructuring education may be seen as part of an evolutionary process from the 20th century industrial, assembly-line model to the eventual…

Incubators are organizations that aim to decrease the learning curve for new schools and increase the likelihood that promising school plans will succeed. Incubators offer communities an innovative new way to support locally-initiated school designs. This design guide is intended to help people who are interested in starting a school incubator…

Instructional quality is one of the most important factors in effective teaching. Without it, school reform is impossible. How can leaders develop and implement strategies to improve faculty quality and then manage the process of school reform in today's complex school environments? The authors answer this question through the study of a systemic…

The nation's governors have put high school reform at the top of their agendas, charging their association--the National Governors Association--with energizing a multi-year effort to overhaul high school education. Across the country, reformers are stepping forward with new high school "designs" aimed at preparing students for the challenges of…

In fall 2002, three large traditional high schools in Chicago, Illinois, started a conversion process that opened five new small schools. In partnership with Mills College, the Consortium on Chicago School Research designed a short-term, interview-based study to provide a snapshot of these new small schools in their first year of planning and…