Presents a way to frame individualized education plan (IEP) meetings using the concept of self-organizing systems, which can produce novel outputs from dynamic interaction among system components. Identifies components of an IEP system, their complex nature, and responsiveness to impacts and suggests ways to improve meeting outputs. (SK)

Describes a study examining relationships among three broad sets of variables: strategic planning in school districts; school district achievement in reading, language arts, and mathematics; and school district financial and demographic factors. All 178 Kentucky public school districts were asked to participate; 127 replied. Significant…

Relates the history of First Impressions, an early childhood initiative in Colorado. Insights gleaned from the First Impressions story are offered for advocates of early childhood education. (BG)

Four factors--the perceived needs of the faculty, the perceived needs of the market, the competition among institutions, and the competition within institutions--represent the major forces behind the development of new academic programs. Two case studies in Missouri and New England are described. (MLW)

Defines strategic planning, outlines its key elements and activities, and summarizes the difficulties of applying a top-down, profit-driven process to education. Explains Strategic Planning for Educational Reform and Improvement (SPERI), a set of manageable, concise procedures for top school administrators. Describes SPERI applications in an…

Principals and others involved in strategic or operational planning decisions need a data collection process with a systematic internal and external scanning structure. Internal data originate from students, school climate, finance, and human resource variables. External data include demography, government finance and budgetary allocations,…

Provides a planned sequence of events and activities for launching a new choral program beginning with becoming acquainted with students, the band director, and other faculty members. Outlines techniques for the first and the second semester to ensure a successful program, and suggests music for inexperienced choirs. (LS)

Examines various permutations of the concept of "core curriculum" and then assesses the crucial planning, design, and development tasks in relation to the core curriculum. (TE)

Redrawing school attendance boundaries is one of the most sensitive tasks a school board faces. Factors to consider include the following: (1) life span of the change; (2) effective date; (3) racial balance; (4) resource equity; and (5) program, public, and financial impact. Outlines a process for developing redistricting plans. (MLF)

Describes the efforts of the United States Catholic Conference (USCC) to provide a coherent, national vision for Catholic education and catechetics. Focuses on the USCC's efforts to support tax relief for Catholic education, monitor proposed legislation, and collaborate with other national, Catholic, and professional organizations. (DMM)

All planning approaches require a result to be assessed. Images of the planning-implementation cycle's success or failure influence the planning process itself. This article attempts to identify the components that determine success and failure thresholds, develop a success-failure framework, apply the framework to analyze some basic planning…

Applies systems design to educational reform through three strategies: transcending the existing system, envisioning the kind of education that will create a desired society, and transforming rather than reforming education to bring the vision to life. (SK)

Case studies of six extension agents and four extension program developers show that three types of factors constrain or enable planning: organizational structure and culture, available resources, and power relationships. Planning is affected in terms of needs addressed and processes used; personal and organizational interests of adult educators…

The most important feature of successful curriculum differentiation for special needs students is good planning, which involves the stages of curriculum support, development of units of work, adapting materials, grouping students, providing individual supports, and assessment. This model is applied to the classroom, the key stage or department,…

Analyzes 106 randomly selected school restructuring proposals from 1,600 submitted to the RJR Nabisco Foundation's Next Century Schools Program. The majority of these proposals emphasized student/parent support and curriculum improvement. Most avoided breadth versus depth and substantive discussion/inquiry issues and left governance structures…