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…

Local governance of education is based on recognizing and protecting the rights of minorities while attempting to meet the needs of all. Legally, various courts across the country have upheld the rights of school officials to make choices regarding curriculum textbooks, library books, and general subject matter. Board policy should include the…

This book was designed to help school board members work together to create an effective school board. Guidelines are based on the premise that organizational effectiveness depends on individuals having the ability to recognize others' frames of reference and to utilize multiple frames. The four frames commonly used by leaders include the…

Financial partnerships are developing between local communities and schools based on the desire to improve public education by raising private sector funds to offset shrinking tax dollars. Those who develop education foundations for a school system must know the basics: defining the school system's role, determining what the fund can and cannot…

The charge of the Committee on Strategies for Excellence was to examine the current status of elementary and secondary education in Iowa, and to investigate ways in which school districts could be educationally more productive. The report brings together recommendations from various state and national reports, reviews the literature, and makes…

Describes the organization, content, and outcomes of a program to train Inuit leaders to be effective school board members for the Baffin Divisional Board of Education when the Inuit first assumed control of that region's schools. Topics include school board role and formulation of educational goals and policies. (JHZ)

Changes to legislation dealing with elections for school boards in Alberta have created a situation where it is conceivable that the membership on separate school boards that were established by Catholic or Protestant minorities could be made up partly or totally of electors who are neither Catholic nor Protestant. (JHZ)

State takeovers, revolutions in school governance, and attacks on school boards are uncommon but not irrelevant. Summarizes comments from school board watchers about how boards must be reassessed if they are to meet challenges such as school system size, school choice, and board member qualifications. (MLF)

Area Education Agency 4 in Sioux Center, Iowa, provides the 18 school districts it serves with information and training in board development. Includes a checklist of 10 hypothetical issues that board members label as either a policymaking issue or a superintendent's responsibility. Each item becomes an occasion for discussion about roles and…

The booklet presents Vermont's policy statements regarding the education of gifted and talented students. Reasons are offered for the lack of appropriate education for this populaton in Vermont, including lack of recognition of the need, and misunderstanding gifted programing as elitist. The current situation in the state is examined and local…

Effective, productive school board meetings depend on clearly specified roles for participants, the provision of thorough advance information about matters under discussion, adherence to agendas, obtaining adequate facilities, controlling public involvement, maintaining good press relations, and preserving the dignity of the proceedings. (PGD)

Describes the characteristics and benefits of a policy adopted by the school board of the Placer Union High School District in Auburn, California, requiring all teachers to provide written orientation materials covering class procedures to all students each year. (PGD)

Without procedural rules, school boards could not do business. Board members consulted revealed that they agree with the rules in theory but often do not follow them in practice. Lists 10 parliamentary rules to remember. Includes a brief biography of Henry M. Robert, who originated "Robert's Rules of Order." (MLF)

The percentage of women in the superintendency remained stagnant over 80 years of the last century and has only increased slightly, to just fewer than 14% of the public school superintendents in the U.S. today. In other words, the glass ceiling still exists. The persistent reasons for lack of change are gender prejudice and gender…

In February 2005, The Dallas Morning News published a multipart series on steroid use among high school students in Texas. The paper's four-month investigation was wide-ranging, but shined a particular spotlight upon alleged abuses in the 13,700-student Grapevine-Colleyville Independent School District, north of Dallas. Use of steroids and other…