This paper describes the initial stages and activities associated with establishing professional development school (PDS) partnerships. Efforts to formulate working groups to develop PDSs began in 1987, and this discussion shares reflections on three years' work. PDSs generally begin when members of the college of education and local school…

This report on gifted education is based on surveys returned by central education agencies in 49 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and the Virgin Islands. The first section contains informational charts which provide a broad overview of state level services for gifted students. Included are data on the level of personnel support for the…

This paper examines institutional restructuring in higher education for the 1990s and the 21st century and the leadership required for that restructuring. Following an overview and a discussion of selected pertinent demographic, social, economic, technological, and political variables, the paper focuses on the strategic importance of Mid-America…

Since 1988, teacher surveys and interviews have been conducted in the 24 professional development schools (PDS) in Jefferson County (Kentucky) Public Schools to document teachers' attitudes toward efficacy and empowerment and toward their schools' learning climate. The 1990-1991 survey results show that teachers seem to have positive opinions of…

Three programs sponsored by the Seattle (Washington) public schools' Office of Academic Achievement were evaluated: the Academic Achievement Project, Early Childhood Model (ECM) Schools, and Pilot Projects. Academic Achievement projects were designed to increase the academic achievement of at-risk learners and to decrease disproportionality. The…

Many educators suggest that deteriorating academic quality in schools can be addressed with the help of an approach to curriculum development called "curriculum integration," which presents a holistic view of knowledge to learners. One reason among many to move from subject-focused curriculum to curriculum integration is that the former fails to…

The Corporate-Higher Education Forum was founded in 1983 to increase cooperation between Canadian businesses and universities. Chapter 1 of this advisory bulletin describes the forum's main interest over the past 2 years as a theme following education from the early years to lifelong learning. Chapter 2, "The Character and Quality of Canadian…

Providing introduction to the whole language philosophy, this book aims to demonstrate that whole language is indeed good education. It outlines what kinds of research support whole language education, how a whole language philosophy may be carried out in practice, and how to go about implementing a whole language philosophy in a school or a…

An assessment of 14 school-university partnerships in the National Network for Educational Renewal (NNER) is provided with a focus on achievement of partnership goals. Partnership goals include simultaneous school improvement and educator education. Methodology involved site observation and interviews with 126 school district and university…

During the last five years, the Prince George's County (Maryland) public school system has brought about dramatic improvements in the academic achievement of at-risk students, offering strong evidence that public education can succeed for all children. This report describes how Prince George's County accomplished this turnaround through a process…

For the past decade, the federal government has supported comprehensive school reform as a way to improve under-performing schools (US Department of Education 1998). Thousands of schools across the country are now implementing scores of different whole school reform models with the hopes of improving school culture and raising student performance.…

Anything built to last needs a clear plan, a solid foundation, the right tools, and strong structural integrity to withstand threatening elements that arise. Unfortunately, most school reform programs do not meet these basic requirements and crumble as quickly as they appear. To offset such mishaps, this guide empowers the reader to be an…

In 1992, a collaboration of educational reform organizations, the New York City Board of Education, a teachers' union, and private funders created a model of urban high school reform that was practitioner-driven. Two failing high schools, one in Manhattan and one in the Bronx, were phased out while 11 new, small autonomous high schools were…

In 1996, many states took action to give parents greater control over the education of their children. Many local school boards adopted initiatives to give parents educational choice and the ability to use vouchers to help pay tuition costs at schools of their choice. Over 200 new charter schools opened in 17 states, and an additional 6 states and…

Researchers at the Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed at Risk (CRESPAR) have been studying the question of whether there are existing programs and practices that, if used nationwide, would actually improve the achievement of students placed at risk. The researchers' work and their studies of small-scale programs in many parts…