Declines in student population are a fact of life in most of the nation's school districts. With the declines come unprecedented challenges and opportunities; sensitive community relations problems involved with school closings; costs that continue to rise despite the decline in student numbers; the need for staff reductions; the need for…

Decentralized decision-making is an important characteristic of effective schools. Effective decentralization requires that teachers, parents, students, and the community be involved, despite the various problems they face. The creation of school improvement councils is one step towards implementing the massive structural change needed to improve…

School change is examined using the experiences of local educational change projects in Sweden. Specifically discussed are Swedish educational development centers that encourage experiments directly involving teachers and the SSK experiment in Uppsala designed to give teachers, parents, and pupils a greater say and more responsibility in…

This report focuses squarely on strategies for instructional improvement in American high schools. Specifically, this study examines how high schools that perform below average incorporate their state's accountability goals into their own goals, identify their challenges, and search for strategies for instructional improvement. It focuses on how…

Turning Points is a national design for middle school change, coordinated by the Center for Collaborative Education in Boston, Massachusetts, which serves as the National Turning Points Center. The design focuses on restructuring middle schools to improve learning, teaching, and assessment for all students. It is based on the seminal "Turning…

The National Center for the Study of Adult Learning and Literacy (NCSALL) Professional Development Study investigated how adult education teachers changed after participating in one of three different models of professional development (multisession workshop, mentor teacher group, or practitioner research group), all on the same topic of learner…

Since the first edition of "Schools and Data", the No Child Left Behind Act has swept the country, and data-based decision making is no longer an option for educators. Today's educational climate makes it imperative for all schools to collect data and use statistical analysis to help create clear goals and recognize strategies for…

School leaders deal with pressures, pitfalls, and opportunities every day. The authors maintain that creative leaders can keep schools moving in the right direction by reflecting on their natural talents and maximizing the strengths of their staff. This completely updated guide helps you assess your role as an administrator, shows how you might…

The author builds upon a foundation which identifies courageous school leadership and the professional learning community as the center of effective school reform. The author offers six guiding principles steps for creating and sustaining a high-performing school: (1) Common mission, vision, values, and goals: (2) Systems for prevention and…

The research methodology of this study included both quantitative and qualitative approaches. Samples consisted of school counselors from 66 Victorian, 33 ACT, and 71 NSW schools in Australia. Findings show that building genuine partnerships between school and external communities requires lots of effort, commitment, and time. Effectiveness of a…

The traditional economic development strategy of the South--concentrating on low-skill, low-wage labor--no longer works; the region cannot compete with other areas of the world that offer low-cost, high-skill labor. The challenges facing rural and central-city communities in the South are immense, and only a comprehensive approach to economic…

This book explores some of the underlying issues related to the changes taking place in British higher education. Individual chapters focus on the development of higher education in Britain, the various purposes it serves, how to assess it, and how to improve delivery. Part 1 addresses the dilemmas of mass higher education, and traces the…

Critical pedagogy brings a new sociopolitical view of linguistics and language teaching that is beginning to influence the teaching of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL) field. This paper aims to do two things: first, to convey an understanding of what these new views are, why and where they originated, whose voices are important, what…

This digest summarizes the rights and responsibilities of parents of children in the special education process under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Amendments of 1997. Among 12 rights listed are a free appropriate public education for every child, written notification for any proposed evaluations, re-evaluation or change in…

Designed for general and special education administrators, teachers, and other education professionals, this book offers a "big picture" of high expectations, assessment, and accountability for students with significant disabilities. Chapters focus on the following eight steps involved in the development and administration of alternate…