Although 80% of all administrative decisions are made at the department level, many community college department chairs accept their positions without a clear understanding of the demands or training in leadership skills. It is critical to a productive department, however, that chairs possess the leadership skills to shape their departments into…

Restructuring public education is central to the task of creating a healthy, just society. For the past 2 years, California Tomorrow's Education for a Diverse Society/School Restructuring Project has visited 32 randomly selected schools throughout California and talked with 1,000 teachers, students, parents, administrators, and advocates involved…

The Hawkins Stafford Act of 1988 amended the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Chapter 1 provides financial assistance through the state education agencies to local education agencies to meet the special needs of educationally disadvantaged children in areas with high concentrations of children from low-income families, as well as…

Success Through Accepting Responsibility (STAR) is primarily a language program, although the values have a relationship to social studies topics. Through language development the words, concepts, and skills of personal responsibility may be taught. This principal's handbook outlines a school-wide systematic approach for building a positive school…

This document presents a basic model of the relationship between leadership, situation, and outcomes. Following a discussion of questions on the nature, origin, and future significance of good school leadership, the conceptual, empirical, and practical tasks of a systematic approach to school leadership are explored. Multiple constituents, school…

This study explores the principal's role as instructional leader in four urban schools showing improvement in test scores. Data gathering procedures included ethnographic observations and interviews of principals; principals' logs of time use; interviews with teachers, school administrators, and students; and faculty surveys. The findings were…

Drawing on data from a study of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, this report analyzes the technical assistance that local districts receive in compensatory education, with an emphasis on the relationship between technical assistance and the local decision-making that ultimately shapes the program. The first section describes…

A series of articles is presented to provide information and orientation for new community college trustees and for those new to the Association of Community College Trustees. First, Victor H. Driscoll presents advice on the basic tools of boardsmanship. Next, Robert B. Prescott discusses the roles of the board of trustees, the board chairman, and…

Three possible explanations for superintendent succession focus on poor administrative performance, district response strategies, and the politics of the chief executive's relationship with the school board. To analyze succession in the context of declining enrollment, a case study survey was conducted of 56 school districts whose peak enrollment…

In recent years the number of lawsuits brought by injured secondary school athletes alleging negligence on the part of coaches, school officials, and referees has risen dramatically. This study analyzes the legal liability implications for administrators and others involved in school sports in North Dakota. An introductory section describes…

This handbook provides public and private school administrators with guidelines for developing a nonprofit educational foundation. Following an introduction, a statement of rationale describes fundamental approaches and activities. The foundation's primary purpose is aiding schools with additional funding and community service support. Section 2…

This report presents nine steps, followed by work plans, for administrators when implementing a dropout prevention initiative. These nine steps are: (1) conduct a needs assessment to establish a database that identifies students who leave school early; (2) draft descriptors that identify elementary students who are at risk of dropping out later;…

A collection of essays is presented, primarily taken from a quarterly newsletter titled "The Department Advisor." The essays include: "A Few Suggestions to New Department Chairs" (Artin Arslanian); "Chairing the Small Department" (Robert Wolverton); "Common and Uncommon Concerns: The Complex Role of the Community College Department Chair" (Myrna…

This monograph presents information on critical issues in the transition of handicapped youth from the school setting to the work environment. The articles discuss the needs of handicapped youth, professional and parental competencies, employability, job settings, and legislation. Titles and authors are as follows: "Career Education for…

This book deals with the processes of making decisions and deciding upon how various kinds of decisions are to be made in higher education. Two background chapters introduce the text, one covering the history of governance and one outlining various administrative theories. This section also discusses the reality of how institutions operate, which…