This report covers the first year of a five-year study of 11 school districts that are involved in school improvement activities. The schools are attempting to create new programs that will increase the effectiveness of linking agents working with the schools in three curriculum areas: basic skills, career preparation, and citizen education. Chapter 1 contains a discussion of the general questions addressed by the research, the focus of the report, approaches to school improvement, and the research strategy. Chapter 2 presents case histories of the work of 3 of the 11 teams to indicate the nature of the planning activities in the schools. Chapter 3 examines the work of all 11 teams to identify factors that facilitated the planning process. Chapter 4 summarizes the findings and identifies questions for future research. (Author/LD)