For the past 12 years, the Cowen Institute has published the "State of Public Education in New Orleans" ("SPENO") on a near annual basis. During that time, the purpose, content, and audience of the report have evolved. This edition of the report is a snapshot of public education in the current academic year using aggregated…

"School Budget Hold'em" is a game designed to help school districts rethink their budgeting process. It evolved out of Education Resource Strategies' (ERS) experience working with large urban districts around the country. "School Budget Hold'em" offers a completely new approach--one that can turn the budgeting process into a long-term visioning…

This project focuses on the policies and practices of school boards (or mayors or others who govern public schools), and how their priorities can make a tangible difference in the academic success of kids living in poor communities. Instead of focusing on deficits of poverty, the researchers wanted to stress school board action as an effective…

Maine is blessed with universities that have records of significant achievement. The seven campuses of the University of Maine System (UMS) together educated over 23,000 students (full-time equivalent) during the past year. But for good reason, in recent years public confidence in higher education throughout the nation has fallen. Half of the…

This publication is a general overview of American school boards that explains how they function and why their continued operation is crucial to sustaining participatory and representative government. It comprises five chapters that cover the following topics: (1) a general summary of the significance of school board service; (2) the roles and…

The purpose of The Arizona Long-Range Strategic Educational Technology Plan is to map the future of the "education support systems" necessary for Arizona's children to succeed in today's world. The plan details goals and strategies for policy makers, the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, Institutions of Higher…

The findings of 22 significant and accessible studies of community involvement in school board policy formation, selected from over 130 relevant studies, are analyzed in this report to provide lay activists with information that could prove useful in efforts to influence policy-making. This information is organized in a question-and-answer format,…

Suggests school boards separate from day-to-day administrative operations, concentrate on futuristic five-year plans, and work with a Community Advisory Committee (CAC) in subgroups to study all areas of responsibility in order to respond to rising median population age and emerging high-tech society. Would provide optimum accountability and…

The demand for Bulletin 1915 No. 44, School Administration in the smaller cities, having been so great that the supply was soon exhausted, and the demand for it still being great, a new-bulletin regarding the administration of schools in the smaller cities has been prepared. The information contained in it was collected by means of a…

This is the report of a commission of 20 Illinois citizens charged with identifying the principal problems in the State's elementary and secondary schools and recommending actions for improving the State's educational program. Three principal areas are addressed: (1) instructional standards and pupil performance; (2) personnel (especially teachers…

This guide to children out of school is addressed mainly, but not exclusively, to school districts, school personnel, and concerned citizens in the State of Ohio. The greatest focus is on the educator's role in assuring that all children are served and on finding solutions when school participation problems exist. The basic position on attendance…

This report is the fifth in a series issued reviewing policies and compensation levels for public higher education and community college executives. The report presents summary information about community colleges for: chancellors and presidents of multi-college districts and superintendent/presidents of single-college districts. In its comments,…

Justification for school district consolidation is made on the basis of either reducing cost or increasing educational quality. Some cost reduction may be realized through certain economies of scale in some consolidations but it is by no means automatic. The Illinois State Board of Education emphasizes the relationship between high school size and…

This manual is designed to be used to acquaint Michigan State school and community members with provisions and requirements of the Steward B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Amendments Act of 1990. This act authorizes local and intermediate school districts to use competitive funding and to implement innovative laws, policies, and procedures that…

This long-range plan for higher education in New Mexico is designed as a guide for decision making rather than a plan for individual colleges. Introductory sections explain the development of the plan; planning principles and assumptions; conclusions about economic development, demography, and education in New Mexico; goals and priorities; and a…