The objectives and accomplishments of the State-Level Information Base project are reviewed, and documents available to state-agency and other staff are summarized. The overall purpose of the project is to assist state-level planners and postsecondary education staff with their information needs, and to effectively match agency responsibilities…

A guide to understanding the major environmental and procedural factors in planning state-level information systems is presented. Attention is directed to: assessment of the developmental environment (agency authority and role, institutional concerns), selection of a procedural approach to information-system planning, assessment of information…

Intended to help a rural Alberta (Canada) school district improve its policies on school attendance areas, this report delineates (1) current policies and procedures; (2) the institutional, social, and environmental context of these policies; (3) parents' concerns; (4) alternatives for improving the district's policies; and (5) recommendations.…

This paper presents examples of judicial reasoning in conflicts involving governing board bias and the power to decide in higher education and in various public school settings. Two cases, "Simard v. Board of Education" and "Hortonville Joint School District No. 1 v. Hortonville Education Association," provide the general…

In North Olmsted City Schools, Ohio, teacher evaluation is a continuous, cooperative, constructive process involving both the evaluator and the teachers. One set of performance variables evaluated relates to professional climate: (1) classroom management; (2) pupil-teacher relationships; (3) pupil-pupil relationships; (4) teacher-parent…

This document proposes a model for the administrative involvement necessary to the negotiation of effective labor contracts in the schools. A historical analysis of laws, statutes, and significant court cases provides insight into the present scope, complexity, and limitations of collective bargaining in the schools of Washington State. Trends in…

This guidebook presents a process to elicit and organize information about school district practices, proposes standards to judge the effectiveness of those practices, and provides a method for determining desired improvements. Following the introduction, section 2 contains a distillation of the research findings on school effectiveness along with…

A school board member describes how the use of four elements helped the board win public support for a referendum that was strongly opposed by an organized, respected committee: (1) Use of the media; rather than inviting press coverage of arguments by holding large public meetings, the board held numerous small, informative meetings. In this…

"Managing Reading By Objectives" (MRBO), the Beaverton (Oregon) School District's reading instruction system--based on learning objectives shared among parents, students, teachers, and administrators--is described through summaries, articles, diagrams, and policy statements. This compilation includes (1) an information sheet; (2) a flow…

A merit pay plan can be successful if it contains unified and agreed upon objectives, integration and expansion of present key tasks, and endorsement and involvement of the entire educational staff. The responsibility of developing appropriate goals rests with the board of education, while the responsibility of documenting voluntary participation…

Calls on school administrators to protect education from further damage from federal legislation by being in closer touch with federal policymaking. Describes a Congressional shift away from instructional issues toward issues affecting noninstructional operations and a corresponding shift in lobbying effectiveness from a Washington-based emphasis…

Comments by five industry leaders on the major trends, concerns, or forces that will affect education this year. Topics include planning schools to serve the community, transforming school business officials into visionaries and communicators, administrator accessibility, school boards as catalysts of change, and community-based transportation.…

A number of school boards have spent hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy out their superintendents' contracts. Offers advice from school board members, superintendents, search consultants, and school attorneys on the issues of contract buyouts. Calculates the cost of contract buyouts in four large school systems. (MLF)

Outlines a 10-year plan for school board members to restructure individual school districts. The objectives are to fund groups of teachers directly and establish teaching as the premier professional position in the school district. (MLF)

Many school boards have considered searching for their next superintendent in the ranks of the business community. Both Minneapolis (Minnesota) and Milwaukee (Wisconsin) have businesspeople as superintendents. Contains a number of comments concerning advantages a businessperson can bring to the superintendency, as opposed to the need for proper…