Prereferral teams have been found to reduce special education referrals. A followup study of 10 prereferral teams in a rural northwestern school district found that strategies for successful team maintenance included training and rotating members, utilizing various skills of multidisciplinary members, administrative support, and implementing a…

Applies Stephen Covey's "seven habits of highly effective people" to creating stronger, more effective middle school teams. Presents ideas for implementing a flexible staff development plan for learning about and how to practice Covey's seven habits. Asserts that highly effective middle level teams will build highly effective students.…

This article describes Effective Behavioral Support, a systems approach to enhancing the capacity of schools to adopt and sustain use of effective processes for all students. Implementation across four major areas of the school system is discussed, including: (1) schoolwide; (2) nonclassroom; (3) classroom, and (4) individual student. A sample…

Explored the journey and progress of elementary teachers conducting action research within science and mathematics, examining their perspectives of teaching, empowerment, research, and professional development through team planning. Data from journals, activities, observations, surveys, and interviews indicated that an initial stumbling block to…

Although democratic decision making offers the best hope for public support of schools, simple majority rule is not enough. Deliberation is needed for long-term community engagement. A Washington State elementary school's broad-based site leadership team sets school direction and handles issues influencing student learning. This team successfully…

Examined the effects of pairing junior high school physical-education learners by skill ability on students' motor-skill performance, cognitive performance, and perceptions about working with a partner. Pretesting and posttesting indicated that students improved their performances and liked working with partners regardless of how high- or…

Examined the nature of culture change that occurred at an alternative continuation high school for at-risk students (n=116) and changes in student attitudes over 2 years. Quantitative and qualitative data show the effectiveness of the school's Team Learning Projects model and the school's restructuring program. (SLD)

Describes how the special education faculty and the general education faculty at Northwestern State University of Louisiana carried out a co-planning and co-teaching effort in four classes of the undergraduate elementary education methods block. Discusses key questions they considered, presents the model they developed for this process, and notes…

Students at Clovis (California) Unified School District are benefiting from GoalSHARING, a program growing out of the district's first annual education congress. Hundreds of educators, parents, and community leaders convened to determine better ways to run the schools. Parent teams now initiate changes at district and school levels. (MLH)

The Lewisburg (Pennsylvania) Area Middle School has successfully implemented an alternating-day block schedule that has yielded improved academic performance. The positive effect may derive from administrative support, teacher empowerment, and community agreement. The culture of the traditional schedule and school year remains essentially intact,…

Uses three examples to illustrate how adventure education encourages the development of community: it is voluntary; it taps a human need to demonstrate competence and skill; and it provides opportunities for people to rally around a common need or goal, often in the service of others. Discusses similarities and differences of community- and…

A former superintendent explains the value of teamwork for solving problems involving bus passes, budgets, and faculty attrition. His continuous-quality-improvement initiatives sparked creative impulses while underscoring the importance of redesigning work procedures and giving people the time and encouragement to be inventive. (MLH)

This article discusses how systems of care for students with emotional and behavior disorders use service coordination to create and maintain linkages among schools, families, and social service agencies. It describes how service coordination teams operate and explores the role of teachers on these teams. (Contains references.) (CR)

Describes an evaluation study that was conducted to assess strengths and weaknesses of an outdoor-based experiential training program used in Thailand. Explains the Self and Team Development in Practice (STP) Walk Rally and considers adult learning theory, experiential learning theory, and the HRD (human resource development) Evaluation Research…

To examine the perceptions of families in the early childhood special education literature, four popular journals were reviewed, and 93 1996-1997 articles were identified for further study. Results found a lack of emphasis on the family and the family's role in the delivery of early intervention services. (Contains references.) (CR)