Significant numbers of students are being pushed out of school as a result of "zero tolerance" school discipline policies. While nobody questions the need to keep schools safe, teachers, students, and parents are questioning the methods being used in pursuit of that goal. Initially enacted to counter violent behavior and drug use, zero tolerance…

The first 3 years of one high school's efforts at school change are detailed in this book. It describes the implementation of the Quest Program, a teacher-designed, interdisciplinary experiment in curricular reform at Brookville High School (a pseudonym), Massachusetts. The participants--teachers, administrators, students, parents, and college…

This extension education publication contains insights and tools to help community members develop a strategic vision and action plan for their community. Presented first are an executive summary and an introduction that includes 10 reasons for a strategic visioning process. The first section, which deals with harnessing the power of vision,…

The rural communities of the North American Great Plains are experiencing fundamental economic and social changes that threaten their very existence. While local projects offer hope for survival, many communities lack the knowledge needed to envision and evaluate their possible futures. As a consequence, communities may pursue survival strategies…

This paper discusses the emergence of a management process known as Business Process Redesign (BPR) in higher education, which is promoted as a successor to the Total Quality Management (TQM) approach that has influenced higher education management in recent years. The paper chronicles recent management changes in higher education and the…

Since 1988, considerable state and school/district energies have been devoted to implementing Re:Learning in Pennsylvania. This paper describes the experiences of Cycle I project directors who implemented Re:Learning in late 1988 or early 1989. Re:Learning is a national effort to redesign the total school system, based on Theodore Sizer's (1984)…

A year-long naturalistic case study investigated teacher-initiated change efforts in language arts by examining the experiences and influences of a single sixth-grade teacher. The teacher was observed in multiple contexts (both in and out of her school), interacting with varying groups of individuals, not all of which were located within the…

This booklet describes a school district's evolution from a neatly compartmentalized language arts curriculum to a curriculum integrated around broad topics and themes of study. Sections of the booklet discuss the mounting tensions in the school district's language arts program; committee work that formed the foundation for change; the 5 target…

This book chronicles the history of intercollegiate athletics from 1910 to 1990, from the early glory days of Knute Rockne to the modern era of big budgets, powerful coaches, and pampered players. It describes how sports programs, although seldom accorded official mention with teaching and research in a university mission statement, have become…

Vermont's State Board of Education in 1990 set four primary goals for its educational system: produce well-rounded individuals and citizens, restructure schools to support very high performance for all students, develop the best teachers and administrators in the nation, and create partnerships to support education. Also, a common core of learning…

Designed to train consultants to apply differential diagnostic techniques and intervention strategies in helping a client system move through phases of an improvement effort, this manual provides and outlines the steps necessary to accomplish this goal. A differential diagnostic matrix for diagnosing problems in human systems is introduced. The…

This report examines the issues, needs, and strategies related to professional development in small, rural schools in Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Information was gathered by a survey, a series of rural education forums, and case study interviews. Respondents of the survey and participants of forums were legislators, practitioners,…

Even the most well developed and well executed school-based parent interventions frequently have low rates of participation and high rates of dropout. A three-stage study employed focus groups and interviews to examine why parents did or did not participate in school-based programs designed to involve them, and why they either continued to…

Alternate Living, Incorporated (ALI) is a nonprofit agency supporting people with developmental disabilities in Anne Arundel County, Maryland, which includes Annapolis and some of the development south of Baltimore. In 1987, in partnership with the Human Services Institute (a private training and consulting organization in Maryland) and with a…

Because of the economic and cultural changes that are currently taking place in society and the workplace, many adults who had their career and personal lives planned to retirement are finding those plans no longer viable and are recognizing the need to readjust their career expectations. Many adults who had always viewed life as a linear,…