This paper describes outcomes of a partnership between the Rochester City School District (New York) and the Kodak 21st Century Learning Challenge consulting program for improving school-based planning team (S-BPT) operations. The purpose of the school-based planning team is to involve the entire school community in improving school effectiveness.…

This paper examines some of the South Western Pacific Island nations and considers their economic and social development and the ways in which education can play a role in future development. Excluding Australia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand, the south-western part of the Pacific is home to 20 small nations. This paper focuses on five of…

This report discusses the accomplishments and limitations of the Nine-Site Program Improvement initiative, a 3-year venture in which federal contractors provided technical assistance to schools. The contractors, Chapter 1 Technical Assistance Centers (TACs) and Rural Technical Assistance Centers (RTACs) received about $60,000 per year for their…

School systems face the challenge of meeting high expectations with limited resources. Reductions in operating grants and increasing expenditures have exaggerated the problem. The Innovation Network was established by the Saskatchewan School Trustees Association in 1995 to help boards of education make the best use of available resources. This…

This report contains the findings of two task forces established during 1994 by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence: (1) the Task Force on Improving Kentucky Schools; and (2) the Task Force on Restructuring Time and Learning. The task forces, comprised of parents and business members of the Prichard Committee, examined key elements of…

Developed by the Illinois Articulation Initiative (IAI), this report provides recommendations for improving articulation through state high schools, community colleges, and institutions of higher education. The recommendations are presented by field of study for business, clinical laboratory science, early childhood education, elementary…

This booklet provides some systematic guidelines for assisting educational planners to discriminate between high-quality educational research and research that should not be relied on for decision making. The guidelines focus on educational research studies that employ either experimental or survey-research methodologies. A checklist is presented…

Through a series of organizational and instructional changes, comprehensive planning aims to make it possible for all children to reach the same high academic standards. Educators and parents of American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students, as well as other members of tribal communities, must participate in this planning to ensure that the…

The relationships between course work taken, educational needs and plans, high school attended, and PLAN test scores of high school sophomores were examined. The PLAN tests are higher-order thinking skills tests that are used in educational planning and in program and curriculum evaluation. The relationships between ethnicity or gender and test…

This final report describes activities of a 3-year federally supported program designed to enable school systems to establish and implement systematic transition planning to meet the multicultural needs of preschool-aged children with disabilities and their families moving into kindergarten and other general education settings. The program model…

In response to the federal goal to connect all of the nation's school classrooms, libraries, hospitals, and law enforcement agencies to the information superhighway, the U.S. Department of Education commissioned a survey to obtain current data to compare with baseline data (obtained in 1994) on the status of advanced telecommunications in public…

This glossary, which defines 81 terms, is designed as a step toward a common lexicon for developers of school-to-work systems across Ohio. The following are among the terms defined: adult full service centers; advanced or early placement; all aspects of an industry; applied academics; (registered) apprenticeship; articulation; basic skills; career…

The governing board of Arizona's Maricopa County Community College District (MCCCD) has developed a strategic conversations format to ensure interaction with the college community and continuous quality improvement in the governance process. The use of strategic conversations facilitates communication with the community to help understand issues…

This paper discusses strategies that can be used in an inclusive elementary classroom to give gifted children the opportunity to choose, plan, and develop individual projects that will add meaning and purpose to their education. The steps toward providing instruction for gifted students are described, including the beginning of the year assessment…

This guidebook offers strategies for creating a district context that is conducive to initiating and sustaining school improvement. Designed to provide resources for those working at school district level, the five stages of the school-improvement process are based on effective-schools research--organize, focus, analyze, develop, and…