The focus of this hearing was on lessons learned in the District of Columbia public schools in the year preceding the hearing. In his opening remarks, Senator Brownback (Kansas) remarked that one of the first lessons is that the academic quality of the schools is not good enough and is in dire need of improvement. A second set of lessons focuses…

Kentucky has witnessed many changes in educational administration. An assessment of those changes, with a focus on school boards, was done. School boards are not efficient bodies and this is not a problem. If efficiency was the top concern, then minimizing time and costs would be dominant and schools would suffer. School boards are not…

Selected current readings in the area of school reform are presented. Seven selections in "The Front Lines" focus on current developments in educational change in the political arena. A section on "Charter Schools" contains eight readings on the development and implementation of charter schools. A section titled "School…

Angered by the continued worsening of public school quality despite 1980s reform efforts and growing business-education partnerships, many American business leaders claim that money and concern are not enough. Boosting teacher salaries and reducing class size have yielded poor results. Business's general dismay with public school performance has…

Hawaii, through the Hawaii School/University Partnership, is 1 of 14 partnership states in the National Network for Educational Renewal. The partnership envisions the use of partnership schools to improve the quality of teacher training while simultaneously renewing and revitalizing the schools. This paper examines the role the partnership schools…

This report provides information on 25 national educational research and development centers. The description of each center contains the name and address of the grantee, the director(s), affiliated organizations, a detailed abstract of its mission and activities, and a list of key personnel. The following centers are included: (1) National…

This study had three purposes: to observe the formation and development of a teacher workgroup over the course of an academic year; to explore the connections between a teacher workgroup and the organization which supported it; and to determine the relationship between the organizational support given to the school, which was undergoing a massive…

A specific legal model that would provide educational choice, called the "Scholarship Initiative," is cast in the form of a state constitutional amendment. The Scholarship Initiative provides a basic framework and point of reference for a legislative debate. Existing public and private schools could be converted into "public…

This study evaluated the special education program of the Hawaii State Department of Education including identification of those program concerns, issues, and problems which need policy or administrative changes or further study. Data collection included document review, onsite interviews with stakeholders, and a questionnaire survey of school…

The role of education in reaching all children is discussed in this address. The former Minnesota Commissioner of Education describes the major restructuring efforts undertaken in the state during her tenure. Reform efforts were made in six areas, in which the following changes occurred: (1) from input-based education to individualized,…

The National Education Commission on Time and Learning (NECT&L) is an independent advisory body authorized by Congress through Public Law 102-62, the Education Council Act of 1991. The commission is undertaking a comprehensive review of the relationship between time and learning in elementary and secondary education, including international…

This paper, commissioned for the development of the national report, "National Excellence: A Case for Developing America's Talent," examines the relationship between American culture and efforts to educate gifted and talented students. The paper presents a historical overview of the cultural forces that have affected public policy, reviews the…

Consistent with school restructuring efforts and Kansas state standards of performance, this resource document provides direction and resources to practitioners preparing to move their schools toward an outcomes-based integrated curriculum. Following an introduction, the document presents discussions of: (1) the transition from a traditional to a…

The Regular Class Participation System (RCPS) project attempted to develop, implement, and validate a system for placing and maintaining students with severe disabilities in general education classrooms, with a particular emphasis on achieving both social and learning outcomes for students. A teacher-based planning strategy was developed and…

This summary highlights implementation strategies from the full report for restructuring middle grade education in Texas. The task force was guided by a central theme--a vision of Texas schools using each other as resources and the campus planning process as a vehicle for implementing research-based concepts and practices in the middle grades.…