The growing body of research on school consolidation does not detail the role of the high school principal. This revelatory case study examined a principal in an Illinois high school during the first year of consolidation. Furthermore, this study is informed by two separate bodies of literature. The first relates to school district consolidation.…

Between 2002 and 2007, the Chicago High School Redesign Initiative (CHSRI) opened 23 small high schools. Implemented in partnership with Chicago Public Schools (CPS), this initiative aimed to provide populations of low-performing students in under-served areas of the city with high-quality, small high schools. These schools were formed (1) by…

Graduation and dropout rates are the center of the conversation about high school reform, with President Obama and the U.S. Department of Education leading the charge to boost high school and college graduation rates among our nation's students in the next ten years. Recognizing the need for a comprehensive approach to keeping teens in school and…

This guide is designed to help high school students in Indiana make post-graduation plans. It begins with a discussion of things students should accomplish while still in high school, including mapping out post-school plans. Special attention is given to career choices, and detailes are provided on how career direction, discovering skills, finding…

THE MAJOR OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY WERE TO--(1) INQUIRE INTO THE NATURE OF ADOLESCENT SOCIAL CLIMATES, (2) LEARN WHAT FACTORS IN THE SCHOOL AND COMMUNITY TEND TO GENERATE ONE OR ANOTHER ADOLESCENT CLIMATE, AND (3) DETERMINE THE CONSEQUENCES OF SUCH SOCIAL CLIMATES UPON THE ADOLESCENTS LIVING WITHIN THEM. THE STUDY WAS CARRIED ON IN 10 HIGH SCHOOLS…

Describes how a full-scale preventive maintenance program was scheduled, incorporated into a manual, and put into motion by a control card system in Niles Township High School District. (Author)

Across race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status, the college aspirations of America's high school students continue to rise. Yet, in spite of their high aspirations, many students of color and many students from low socioeconomic backgrounds are underrepresented in the nation's postsecondary educational institutions. The under representation of…

A project to implement the Illinois Plan for Industrial Technology Education produced four major accomplishments: (1) 13 workshops were held on Communication Technology and Energy Utilization Technology; (2) workshop activity packets were produced in both subject areas; (3) a "Futuring Committee" was established that outlined a 10-year…

The high school is now the focus of attention at the national and state levels, adding urgency to long-term efforts in Illinois to improve learning and prepare students for work and further education. In February 2005, the National Governors Association called for "wide reform that will make high school, particularly senior year, more…

In an organizationally competent school, everyone has a role that defines his or her obligations and everyone is part of a reciprocal relationship that spells out mutual obligations. Reciprocal role relationships enable informal communities of practice to bubble up and institutionalized collaborative cultures to trickle down. When such informal…

Describes a four-year Illinois project to identify twelve topics that can be developed into instructional modules for teaching occupational survival skills. Topics include working in an organization, understanding self/others, motivation, interpersonal relations, on-the-job communications, creativity, authority/responsibility, problem solving,…

Using an adaptation of the University of Oregon's Quest instrument, the Illinois State Board of Education collected data to assess the related likes, dislikes, and abilities of 108,000 tenth-grade students. Data were analyzed to identify a profile of occupational possibilities that could be used for planning and developing regionally based…

The cooperative program used at Sycamore High School, Sycamore, Illinois, for 24 years has been integrated with career education to provide student experience in many occupations in a cluster and to permit progression toward a specific occupation and attain salable skills. Grades 9-12 curriculum is based on a series of career orientation and…

Organizational competence is what makes schools smarter, and such competence is typically found to reside in the relationships, norms, memories, habits, and collective skills of a network of people. Simply put, organizational competence is the sum of everything that everybody knows and uses that leads to increased learning. In an organizationally…

This guide presents strategies for developing or upgrading secondary school agricultural education programs with the Illinois Agricultural Education Core Curriculum. Following an introduction, the guide provides the following: (1) the goals of the Education for Employment K-adult curriculum model; (2) a rationale for this curriculum change; (3) an…