This document describes school-based management (SBM) and examines one urban elementary school's experiences in developing a SBM plan. School issues that gave rise to interest in SBM and problems encountered by those involved in the planning process are analyzed. Two administrators, three teachers, and two parents, who were involved in the early…

This document provides an overview and description of the Fitchburg State College (Massachusetts) Certificate of Advanced Graduate Study (CAGS) Program in Professional Staff Development and the subsequent establishment of the Professional Development Center. The purpose of the certificate is to enable veteran master teachers, specialists, and…

Both business and education leaders have come to view their alliance as the way to educate America's youth to meet society's needs. Because successful businesses are flexible and adaptable, business leaders can work with school boards in changes promoted by the current school reform movement. Board members need to work with business to identify…

This paper calls for the use of experience-based teacher education and staff development to foster strong school communities. The authors discuss an evaluation of the Experiential Curricula Project at Stanford University, an innovative course sequence for prospective teachers. They focus in particular on the program's ability to foster community…

This document examines the restructuring of local schools and how restructuring can involve students with disabilities and the special education programs that serve them. The document is designed to create awareness of the issues related to restructuring and programs for students with disabilities and puts forth options for reconsidering and…

This booklet, the third and last in a series of monographs on solutions to the problem of school dropouts, is designed to provide guidance for local organizations to address the needs of students at risk of dropping out. It sets forth the goals and objectives of a planning approach that illustrates how local communities could organize to increase…

This document presents findings of a nationwide study that examined the extent to which American high schools are implementing various restructuring activities. A survey mailed to principals in all of the nation's 10,365 regionally accredited public and private high schools elicited a 33 percent response rate. Seven indicators of major school…

In the spirit of educational reform, the purpose of this paper is to review the literature and present six empirically derived dimensions underlying the construct of teacher empowerment. The dimensions were obtained from a study conducted on school empowerment in nine school districts across the country from 1989 to 1992. Empowerment has been…

This book points to the need to attend to ever-present inequalities of education in the light of new political correctness, technology, and curricula. Following the introduction, chapter 1 offers a review of neoconservative, liberal humanist, and radical theories of education. Chapter 2 suggests that one way to rethink and restructure the nature…

This digest provides a process for assuring that the unique needs of students who are gifted are addressed within the context of systemic educational reform. Several key elements guide the process: creating belief statements, clarifying the issues, and designing strategies for implementation. Generating belief statements based on what is believed…

This is the second of a two-volume briefing book that examines education issues in California from 1983 to the present. It includes summaries, findings, and recommendations from selected California education studies and reports published since 1983. The material is presented verbatim. Topics include: a summary of California's Education Summit;…

This document contains the Virginia Beach superintendent's report to the school board on the adoption of a resolution that supports school-based management (SBM) and shared decision making. On December 17, 1991, the school board passed the "Resolution of Support for School Based Management and Shared Decision Making." The report contains…

As society moves into the information age, changes need to be made in the educational process to ensure that students will have the skills they will need in the changing workplace. By keeping abreast of the changes in society, education, and training, instructional technology professionals can play a key role in restructuring the educational…

Inherent, interrelated, and structural biases against excellence in education that operate at the university and school levels in the American educational system are discussed in this paper. Structural constraints of the American secondary system include universal secondary education, comprehensive school organization, downward coupling, local…

This study examined the feasibility and advisability of using telecommunications in the Chicago Public School (CPS) system to support school reform that has been mandated by recent legislation. Survey research yielded information on the current status of staff development and Local School Council (LSC) training, and provided the basis for…