Within an individual building, the School Improvement Process (SIP) provides a focus for staff development and an evaluation of results that are linked to student outcomes. SIP emphasizes a building level, bottom-up planning and decision-making process. This article presents a case study of an individual school's use of SIP. (IAH)

Principals desiring to be effective leaders will involve stakeholders in a process defining the school's destination. A preferred vision can be clearly stipulated if stakeholders develop a statement of beliefs, conduct external and internal scanning to determine trends, and identify critical success factors. Includes seven references. (MLH)

Proposes curriculum negotiation as necessary to the professional autonomy of the educator who works with adults. Suggests that the educator of adults, through this negotiation, will be better able to understand the social processes that drive educational transactions, while sustaining educational ethics within these processes. (KO)

Identifies ways in which school principals can promote parental involvement in the educational decisions affecting their children. Underscores the importance of communication between teachers and parents, the development of parents' decision-making skills, acknowledgement of parental involvement, and improvement of parents' understanding of school…

Describes the efforts of the Community College of Allegheny County (Pennsylvania) to completely revise the college curriculum. Focuses on the definition of "curriculum," an outside consultant's review, research on outcomes assessment, curriculum planning models, estimates of the time commitment involved, and human relations and group dynamics.…

Learner-centered literacy programs in the United States have developed a range of participatory practices for instructional and management purposes. Participation can occur on a number of levels; learner participation can serve any of three purposes: efficiency, personal development, or social change. (Editor)

When labor, management, and literacy educators collaborate to develop a learner-centered literacy program, literacy educators must be willing to learn about the work and lives of industrial workers. The Academy at Eastern Michigan University is an alternative to traditional adult basic education that engages adults in collaborative learning.…

The traditional, closed model of program development is being replaced in many places by local problem-solving groups. These community groups involve democratic decision making and require new skills of educators--listening, reflecting, and making inferences about needs. (SK)

To achieve excellence in education, school leaders need to dispel five myths concerning educators' talent and commitment, higher teacher salaries, societal influences on schools, tough educational standards, and the free market or voucher system. The key is visionary leadership based on openness to change and educator empowerment. (MLH)

Describes three strategies for involving faculty members in setting school goals and implementing programs to reach these goals. Offers principals suggestions for developing building-level faculty committees through administrative advisory and instructional improvement councils. Such activities enhance instructional leadership. (MLH)

Describes three interrelated models for faculty development: (1) the School Improvement approach, in which school staff identify institutional goals and their own needs; (2) the Readiness, Planning, Training, Implementation, Maintenance (RPTIM) model; and (3) a model of effective inservice activities in RPTIM training and implementation phases.…

A pilot program in school-based management in Prince William County, Virginia, gave principals at five schools their share of the school system's budget to allocate. (MLF)

Describes what is happening with school-based management in the public school systems of Dade and Sarasota Counties, Florida; and Savannah Chatham County, Georgia. (MLF)

Asked about principals' leadership role, Peters claims we've gone wrong by emphasizing the superstructure over the unit commander and by taking "leading" and "managing" distinctions too seriously. Vision and people skills are all-important. Unfortunately, schools have drawn from the worst of private-sector management and…

Efforts to empower teachers will be aided by parallel attempts to strengthen principals and other supervisors' ability to perform their job better. Principals need to be specifically trained in using personal power to help empower their teachers. Further research is needed concerning the exercise of power in schools. Includes nine references. (MLH)