This paper examines the multiple challenges that emerged during the development of professional community in a middle school that attempted to decentralize decision making. Kruse and Louis' (1993) framework of the dimensions of professional community is used to analyze qualitative data collected at Whitehead Magnet School (located in a large…

A study was conducted to determine if family configuration was a factor in students' perception of parental behaviors that support schoolwork. A total of 439 public school and 399 parochial school students in grades 6 through 12 were surveyed. Results showed that students from intact, two-parent homes perceived greater parental concern and support…

This document consists of the two issues in the third volume (covering 1993) of "Notes from the Field," a serial documenting a 5-year study of the implementation of the Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) of 1990 in four rural Kentucky school districts. The first issue addresses implementation of an ungraded primary program in eight…

A practicum was designed to increase the utilization of an elementary school media center whose wealth of materials were seldom checked out or used, and whose facilities were used mostly for fixed library scheduled classes. Moreover, the media center's facilities were unattractive and uninviting to visit. The solution strategies involved…

Although transition services and plans for youth with disabilities are mandated by age 16 by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, a need clearly exists to provide transition services before age 16. The literature documents the need for transition programs that develop problem-solving skills, career awareness, an interest in future…

This book offers specific suggestions to teachers who are attempting to relinquish old boss-management systems by putting the newer lead-management theory into practice in their classrooms. Leading, rather than bossing, creates classrooms in which students not only do competent work but begin to do quality work. The book begins by explaining that…

Project CHOICE was an Elementary and Secondary Education Act Title VII-funded project in its fifth and final year of operation at Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn and Springfield Gardens High School in Queens (both in New York City). In 1992-93 the project served 364 students of limited English proficiency. Participants received instruction…

Asian-American Communications: In-School Staff Workshops was in its fifth year of funding by New York State Bilingual Categorical Funds. The project provided workshops for staff, parents, and students in schools with large Asian-American populations. During the year under review, the project conducted 26 workshops citywide. Phase I workshops…

This paper reports results from two dissertation studies and several pilot and case studies examining the effects of early enrichment on children's language and cognitive development. Early enrichment in these studies included home visits with parents, typically beginning before the child reached 6 months of age, and continuing until the child was…

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.…

This second annual report describes activities of and presents Preliminary findings of nine longitudinal studies that are a follow-up of research conducted from 1985 to 1990 by the Early Intervention Research Institute at Utah State University on the effects and costs of providing alternative types of early intervention services to children with…

This third annual report describes activities of and preliminary findings of nine longitudinal studies on the effects and costs of providing alternative types of early intervention services to children with disabilities. The nine studies being followed focus on either variations in program intensity, variations in the age of beginning…

Delaware County Community College (DCCC) in Media, Pennsylvania, began pursuing Total Quality/Continuous Quality Improvement (TQ/CQI) methods in 1985-86. A major initiative to support TQ/CQI efforts in the classroom was the development of a faculty in-service program to introduce models reflecting TQ/CQI principles and practice. Baugher's LEARN…

This report examines the results and conclusions of recent research on small and rural schools, and attempts to frame current debates over educational adequacy and financial equity in Idaho's rural school districts. Section I reports findings of recent research on school size and emphasizes the benefits of (typically rural) small schools. Most…

This booklet (one of a series of 10 booklets in a reading project to benefit Kosair Children's Hospital in Louisville, Kentucky) contains five stories especially written for kindergarten children by educators. The stories are about: the importance of using a seatbelt; a child's first experience of a hospital; a visit to an emergency room; a…