Profiles Virginia Aguilar, a high school principal who, with her staff, has been exploring and implementing changes and improvements in response to state mandates. The paper describes improvement efforts by the school district and how Aguilar's school makes use of them. Aguilar's encouragement of participative decision making is discussed. (SM)

Describes a project in which students created a wall-sized map of Vermont to celebrate the state bicentennial. Suggests that the minimum of instructions the students received and democratic discussion and voting made the project an experience in cooperative learning and communication. Explains that the project incorporated art, history, geography,…

Independent living centers serve a cross-disability population; involve persons with disabilities in policymaking, goal setting, and service delivery; provide comprehensive services for independent living; and provide both consumer and systemwide advocacy. Barriers to rural independent living and approaches to overcoming them are described. (SV)

Memphis established school-based decision making (SBDM) during a systemwide reform. The paper discusses teacher empowerment to make school level decisions, presenting case vignettes from Memphis to highlight differential rates of teacher involvement. It describes beginning expectations of teachers and principals, noting factors associated with…

The article addresses structural, personnel, and pedagogical considerations pertaining to the development of beginning teacher mentoring programs in the context of restructured elementary schools. Research indicates restructured schools provide a natural environment for fostering successful mentoring experiences because of their empowered…

Explores the historical bases for turning to education for solutions to U.S. economic problems. Discusses the Founders' dream of an educated republic, the nineteenth-century origins of public education, and the Progressive era view of schools as laboring communities in miniature. Addresses the implications for contemporary education. (SG)

According to two recent surveys, middle-level administrators' essential job skills include an ability to understand developing adolescents' characteristics and needs, develop and communicate a vital, responsive school philosophy, promote shared decision making, guide creation of an interdisciplinary team organization, develop a continuous school…

A small Texas school district initiated a shared governance plan that involves teachers in decisions and innovations at each school. Cites some successful accomplishments along with problems inherent in time limits and the committee structure itself. (MLF)

State endorsements of site-based management frequently overlook the development of skills necessary for collegial teamwork and strategies for demonstrating administrators' sincere commitment to the process. This article describes symbolic actions that some administrators have taken to develop new skills and build the necessary trust for assuming…

This study examined the effects of contingency management on participation in an education program by new members of a student housing cooperative. With credit and fine contingencies in place, the percentage of participants completing study guides was five times higher than without the contingencies. Members continued to implement the program for…

A survey of participatory management practices at eight representative middle schools disclosed three key differences between more and less effective principals. Effective principals felt responsible for all aspects of their schools, accurately perceived how teachers viewed their relationships and involvement levels, and identified key teacher…

Health care reform needs to assure coverage to all children regardless of income level or illnesses; address benefits, financing, administration, and delivery systems; provide substantial subsidies to low-income families; be equitable for all people; provide better monitoring of child health; protect and strengthen health providers who assist…

In 1986, the Halton Board of Education in Toronto, Canada, initiated an effective schools project. This paper reviews the project, outlines some key results, and describes lessons learned about school effectiveness. Significant change is affected by school growth planning, school culture, administrative leadership, principal and teacher mobility,…

Compares the Group Valence Model (GVM) to several derived versions of the Valence Distribution Model (VDM), as they relate to the group problem-solving process. Suggests that, not withstanding predictive accuracy, the VDM seems generally inferior to the GVM, which consistently accounts for more of the decision-making phenomenon. Discusses…

Summarizes a study of 26 Dutch secondary schools to determine the possibility of distinguishing types of schools by their policymaking capacity. Schools' policymaking capacity seems related to teachers' professional orientation. In schools with a colleague-oriented policymaking capacity, teachers participate more in administrative decision making…