A study of five Coalition of Essential Schools member high schools, each with different demographics but all involved in reform for at least seven years, yielded clues about effective whole-school reform strategies. Schools are more likely to succeed if they use continuous revisioning, adopt interconnected initiatives, deal directly with…

Argues that basic elements of schools require restructuring if the literacy levels necessary for the twenty-first century are to be accessible to all. Argues for restructuring that goes beyond schools themselves. Proposes an alternative approach which would have those who teach be those who decide how goals are to be accomplished. (MG)

Sharing decision making with teachers and parents actually increases the principal's influence. Offers 10 steps to translate leadership skills into school restructuring. (MLF)

The effective schools approach has had its best success in small- and medium-sized systems with an insistent superintendent and board of education. Restructuring, like the effective schools movement, is the invention of urban educators confronting the necessities of poor and minority students. School effectiveness strengths need to be incorporated…

Applauds Anne Raywid's critique of the ASCD's "Public Schools of Choice" monograph in the same "Educational Leadership" issue for advocating the revitalization of public schools and the creation of more democratic governance structures. However, parental choice will be meaningless unless school norms and teacher-student work relationships are…

Focuses on professional practice schools as contexts for the continuing professional development of experienced inservice teachers. A framework for developing a culture of inquiry in a school is provided, appropriate professional growth activities are considered, and problems and dilemmas associated with teacher development in professional…

Michael Strembitsky, director of the High Performance Management Program with the National Alliance for Restructuring Education, helps administrators, policymakers, and community leaders work through problems and challenges accompanying decentralization, deregulation, and results-driven reform efforts. He finds that school staff with…

New (information) literacy may be defined as accessing, analyzing, applying, creating, and communicating information electronically. School leaders must encourage and support electronic literacy and understand its relationship to previous pictographic, oral, and bibliographic eras. Unless schools begin to address and teach the new literacy, U.S.…

Summarizes a 5-year study using an organization-learning perspective to analyze 72 teachers' and principals' attitudes toward restructuring policies in British Columbia. Describes processes used by teachers to pursue their collective and individual learning. Identifies conditions (related to school vision, culture, structure, strategies, and…

A former classroom teacher studied the role of action research in restructuring schools. The article discusses the background information she collected on reasons for conducting action research (personal/professional growth, improved practice, advancing the profession, contributing to the professional literature, promoting collaboration, and…

Reviews forces and factors impinging on institutions of higher education and colleges of agriculture that set forth a new paradigm characterized by undergirding production agriculture with a social objective of sustainability, environmental compatibility, and stewardship of the natural resource base. (LZ)

A roundtable discussion with participants in the Boston (Massachusetts) Whole Village Project illustrates the complexities of urban reform efforts focusing on cooperation among school, parents, and community. Participants were three principals, a school-based parent coordinator, and three education reform project directors. (SLD)

Describes how two Orlando, Florida, high schools enhanced student success by implementing community-generated restructuring plans. Block scheduling helped improve attendance and grade point averages. Also, a survey of teachers and students disclosed school climate gains in the areas of safety, success, involvement, commitment, interpersonal…

Explains application procedures for state first-year funding under Title III of the Goals 2000 Act and the requirements of a state's second-year application. Cites two resources for building successful community partnerships to improve schools, and lists federal requirements that may be waived if they impede the implementation of state or local…

With a $30,000 Carnegie Foundation grant, a Baltimore middle school launched a school-improvement team comprised of teacher representatives and "house" principals from "schools-within-schools," parents, community members, and the principal. After 4 years of tackling test scores, attendance, curriculum, scheduling, and parental…