This book contains 16 papers presented at a conference on the state of America's public schools. Phi Delta Kappa, the Institute for Educational Leadership, and the Educational Excellence Network sponsored the conference held in Washington, D.C., on February 4-5, 1993. The authors of the papers were asked to comment on what is right and what is…

One issue in school restructuring has been deciding exactly how to make schools more autonomous and accountable. Charter schools, a recent concept, offer a viable means of integrating various reform ideas in order to create highly autonomous and accountable learning environments. This publication defines charter schools; highlights the appeal of…

This paper offers a new conceptual framework for thinking about school restructuring by examining the meaning and implications of restructuring as a school improvement strategy. Conceptualization efforts are organized around a set of fundamental questions: (1) What is the meaning of restructuring? (2) What makes restructuring necessary? (3) What…

South Carolina's successful comprehensive school plan to develop and maintain public support for its school reform package, the Education Improvement Act, is offered in this paper, which focuses on the necessity of public support for successful reform. Key components of the plan are described, which include timing and public interest, state…

The need for school communities that provide quality education for a diverse student body has never been greater. Increasingly interdependent global economies require schools that will create a flexible and creative work force, not simply trained workers. The development of learner-centered schools is important to meeting these challenges. Three…

Findings of a study that explored focus group participants' views on public schools and Kentucky's recent education reform efforts are presented in this document. In May 1992, 7 focus groups, with a total of 70 participants, were conducted at 6 locations throughout Kentucky. Three groups consisted of citizens who were not public school employees,…

While the call to restructure schools represents the latest quest for reform and improvement in American public education, efforts to improve have always been ongoing in many schools and districts. The eight elementary schools described in this book have been engaged in the processes of improvement for many years. A major theme that emerges from…

This paper focuses on how school practitioners respond to middle-school reform when it is approached from a research-based, theoretical framework. Using a goal-theory framework, a school-university collaboration at a middle school in a small midwestern town sought to move the school culture toward a task-oriented learning environment. Evaluation…

Findings of a study that examined the implementation of school-based management in an elementary and a secondary school are presented in this paper. The study attempted to identify certain phenomena that might be directly linked to attitudes or perceptions generated specifically by the differences inherent in elementary-secondary school settings.…

This paper reports the findings of a case study that examined leadership as a shared phenomenon. Conducted during the 1991-92 school year at Cross Keys Middle School in Ferguson, Missouri, data were derived from informal interviews with staff members; observation; formal interviews with 19 teachers, 3 counselors, 3 administrators; and document…

Through scenarios describing the actions of a district restructuring committee, this book shows how the "interlocking spheres of the organization" cooperate, with roles and functions blending in leadership teams and study groups. The book provides a research-based, practical guide for renewal that keeps one goal central: improving student…

To date, eight states (Minnesota, California, Colorado, Georgia, Massachusetts, Missouri, New Mexico, and Wisconsin) have passed some type of charter school legislation. This report provides information on activities and legislation in these states regarding charter school formation, including the roles played by individual teachers and others as…

An assessment of the school reform movement, this book focuses on the states of the Deep South--Alabama, Georgia, and Mississippi. Ten articles, organized into three sections, tackle such issues as the role of government in school reform, the professional growth of teachers, and the privatization of schools. Part 1 includes the following: "Public…

In December 1988 the Illinois State legislature passed the Chicago School Reform Act, which sought to replace traditional bureaucratic control of the schools with a complex system of decision making by local schools. The act promotes three distinct sites of power in school communities: (1) parent-dominated local school councils (LSCs); (2)…

The goals of education for the next century require a new conception of accountability, one that seeks to create responsible and responsive schools. This volume tries to outline such a conception of learner-centered accountability, and show how it looks in action in real schools. The first chapter provides a conceptual overview of a…