A report is presented on school reform interventions and outcomes of the Howard University Center of Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR)/Capstone Institute that uses evidence-based strategies to promote the academic achievement and social competence of African American children. The "participant action…

Comprehensive school-reform programs under way in many states have better chances of success if they are linked to supportive external organizations. This paper describes activities of the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, an independent, privately funded organization--a collection of volunteer activists that uses citizen leadership to…

This book is designed to help policymakers, educators, and researchers develop a deeper understanding of the issues of school restructuring and to give greater conceptual clarity to the terms of the current debate. The chapters of the book contain forum papers that are organized into two main parts. Following chapter 1, "Introduction: On Changing…

Factors that can powerfully affect an educator's ability to manage school change are culture, leadership, and readiness. Movement from bureaucracy to community, from isolation to collaboration, involves cultural changes. Managing the change process within a cultural context is influenced by the structural, human resources, political, and symbolic…

School-based early childhood centers are high-quality programs using approaches to instruction based on recognized principles of child development and learning for children 3 to 8 years old. The centers are characterized by the active involvement of parents and the community and by a commitment to smooth transitions from home to school and through…

In February 1993 the Buffalo Financial Plan Commission was asked to conduct a financial and management assessment of the Buffalo (New York) public schools. The effort involved the work of 115 volunteers from 75 businesses and community organizations in the Buffalo area. Thirty-four recommendations were produced, which were expected to yield annual…

This document is an edited version of testimony presented to a special hearing on the role of arts education in education reform. A special committee of eight state legislators assembled to hear testimony from 12 organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts and the U.S. Department of Education, the Council for Chief State School…

This report offers insights on the experiences and techniques used in the Dearborn Public Schools effort to integrate Title VII and Chapter 1 programs prior to their reauthorization. The school system is located near metropolitan Detroit, Michigan, and has over 14,500 students representing 24 languages, many from the Middle East, Romania, and…

This paper describes the current state of research on Success for All, a program built around the idea that every child can and must succeed in the early grades. Success for All assumes that every child without organic retardation can read. Requirements for success include prevention and intensive early intervention. Success for All began in one…

To do a comprehensive assessment of Oregon's professional technical education and work force programs, project evaluators identified, obtained, and extracted relevant data from documents and other related materials that pertained to key program concerns. Fieldwork consisted of four major activities: interviews with key players, written surveys…

In 1988, the Illinois State Legislature passed the Chicago School Reform Act giving local schools significant decision-making authority to restructure management. The Act gives reform-specific powers to a local school council, which is composed of six parents, two community residents, two teachers, and the principal, all elected by their…

The implications of critical multiculturalism for practice are illustrated through the ethnographic study of Richmond Road School, an inner-city elementary school in Auckland (New Zealand). Richmond Road, under the leadership of its Maori principal James Laughton, developed a critically conceived, reflective, and holistic conception of…

In 1989, West Virginia University initiated a project to create a new vision for teacher education and for schools in West Virginia. With the support of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation of Pittsburgh, the school partnership is based on the Holmes Group concept of professional-development schools (PDSs), which provides a vehicle for school…

The emphasis in recent British educational legislation (primarily the 1988 Education Act) has been on the creation of an "internal market" to stimulate improvements in educational outcomes and provide efficiency and accountability. The internal market mechanism allows schools to manage their own budgets and personnel and to create…

This report was produced by the 18 participants enrolled in a week-long summer institute conducted at the Center for Excellence in Education at Indiana University and sponsored by the Indiana Department of Education. The purpose of this institute was to give school people the time and resources to identify and apply technological solutions to…