This report describes the Career Ladder Program at Ganado Unified School District 20, which serves approximately 2,000 students in grades K-12 in the Navajo Nation in rural northeastern Arizona. A committee of teachers and principals developed a model that influenced the evolution of the district and school system from conventional management to a…

University and school-based members of the League of Professional Schools, a collaborative formed to support school renewal, engage in disciplined inquiry on the effects of this school/university collaborative on life in member schools. Essentially, the League conducts action research on action research. The League and its definition of schoolwide…

This paper presents findings from one in a series of four case studies on leadership in schools dedicated to educational reform. It describes the process undertaken by staff at Cross Keys Middle School in Flourissant, Missouri, to develop a school mission related to the national middle schools movement. Changes made in the school's program,…

This report outlines issues related to special education and changes in its role brought about by the restructuring of schools. Discussions of proposed policy options accompany the descriptions of each issue. The issues are in addition to those described in an earlier University of Maryland issues and policy options paper. The first issue is…

This document for school-council members in Kentucky provides guidelines for school-based decision making (SBDM). In 1990, the Kentucky State legislature passed the Education Reform Act (KERA), which mandated SBDM in Kentucky schools and recommended the formation of school councils composed of the principal, three teachers, and two parents. The…

This selection of readings in the field of educational reform presents 46 articles, mostly from the news media, and 2 cartoons related to improvement of the educational system. It opens with "Network Notes," brief reports and reviews about events and recent publications of interest to those concerned with educational reform. The first…

This book examines recent school reforms in England and Wales, the U.S.A., Australia, New Zealand and Sweden. It suggests that, at the same time as appearing to devolve power to individual schools and parents, governments have actually been increasing their own capacity to "steer" the system at a distance. Section 1 sets the scene by outlining and…

Many countries around the world are engaged in large-scale, government-mandated education reform. To explicate the working of these reforms, a study of government-mandated reform in New Zealand, England, Canada, and the United States is described. The paper reports on some of the main issues that are emerging, including the finding that current…

This paper claims that broad educational policies and the"one best model" approach are not conducive to rural school improvement. It examines the problems with state policies and offers some solutions. Teacher certification has become increasingly narrow. Certification should allow for more generalist certifications, easier access to obtaining…

Findings of a study that examined Chicago teachers' opinions about school reform, the quality of their schools, and their perspectives on instruction and its improvement are presented in this paper. A survey mailed to 12,708 Chicago public elementary school teachers in late May and June of 1991 elicited an overall response rate of 70 percent.…

Plans for restructuring Tennessee public education have been interrupted by the prolonged national recession and a $276.4 million reduction in the 1991-92 state education budget. The state's 1991 Annual Joint Report identified 26 essential educational objectives. Although progress in some areas has been limited, Tennessee has achieved a 25 percent…

School finance is once again a hot topic across the country. Despite the current turmoil in education finance, reform remains a priority at both the state and federal levels. This report examines the school finance issue and proposes that education funding be tied more closely to systemic reform initiatives. It next describes past trends in school…

The purpose of this study was to determine whether library media specialists and teachers perceived that the restructuring approach in the Coalition of Essential Schools has changed the performance of 37 services of library media specialists. The perceptions of library media specialists and teachers provided data to determine whether library media…

This case study examines an effort to restructure secondary education in a small rural Massachusetts public high school. Data documenting the change process include archival records, participant observation, and interviews and questionnaires conducted with community members, school staff, and students in grades 7-12. The restructuring effort…

In 1991 a committee was created by Iowa's Legislative Council to study issues related to the reform of Iowa's education system and examine the status and future of education in Iowa. The committee also analyzed nationwide trends and, based on their findings, developed a comprehensive blueprint for school transformation in Iowa. This blueprint…