States like Georgia have brought policy change allowing schools to arm teachers. However, ramifications of unforeseen costs and possible legal issues this could bring are still unclear. Since no school that out has openly armed their faculty and/or staff has been in an active shooter situation it is unclear whether this policy is effective.…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore how perceptions of team strengths and weaknesses present in school district leadership teams, as conceptualized by Patrick Lencioni: a team's ability to 1) trust, 2) commit, 3) handle conflict, 4) be accountable, and 5) be attentive to results. Additionally, this study sought to identify…

In this study, we analyzed the experiences of an educational leadership doctoral student and aspirant to the professoriate (protégé) and an educational leadership professor (mentor) during our two-year mentoring relationship. Collaborative autoethnography was employed, and our analysis relied primarily upon a process-oriented model of mentoring.…

This report provides a comprehensive review of the literature on restorative justice in U.S. schools. The review captures key issues, describes models of restorative justice, and summarizes results from studies conducted in the field. The review was conducted on research reports and other relevant literature published, or made publicly available,…

Dr. Edward White, Hillsborough High School principal, has decided to allocate faculty in-service time to address an unproductive chasm between academic and career and technical education programming within the school, which has created tensions among the faculty. On returning to his office after the professional development session, which was…

For the past 15 years, zero-tolerance policies for violence in schools have been the driving force behind many school discipline policies around the country. But the disciplinary landscape is starting to change in a growing number of schools, especially those in urban districts, where administrators have taken their cues from high-profile reports…

Purpose: Syntactic development in adolescents was examined using a spoken discourse task and standardized testing. The primary goal was to determine whether adolescents with a history of language impairments would differ from those with a history of typical language development (TLD). This is a companion study to one that examined these same…

This paper examines a burgeoning network of organizations that is inventing new forms of community renewal and citizenship education. Their names vary--some call themselves public policy institutes, others centers for civic life--yet they share a common methodology, one aimed at tackling tough public issues, strengthening communities, and…

The Kankakee, Illinois, school district investigated the causes of social conflict in the school district and developed a system of tension monitoring and reduction. Causes of tensions identified by the school district come under the headings institutional, instructional, and personal-interaction. The school's program for tension reduction, once…

This report describes a program designed to decrease students' undesired behaviors. Undesired behaviors addressed include tattling, hitting, kicking, biting and pinching. A review of existing literature revealed these behaviors affected all aspects of the classroom. The sample population consisted of two sessions of at-risk pre-kindergarten and…

This article describes an anti-bullying program with young adult literature as its centerpiece that the authors created. It explores the nature of bullying and its emotional impact on the victims, focusing on its prevalence in schools, and then describes the comprehensive anti-bullying program instituted in grades 6 to 8 at Wood Oaks Junior High…

Describes one small Illinois school district's experience with collective bargaining. Emphasizes the superintendent's role. (PKP)

Implications of conflict management for the superintendent's role as instructional leader are explored in this study. A theory of conflict management that looks at the shift in the administrator role from nonpartisan to political professional is applied to case studies of three Illinois school districts in which superintendents involved in teacher…

Parents and members of the public want safe schools that are free of violence. This document explicates Illinois' state plan for ensuring safety and order in its public schools. The plan contains 44 steps that are designed to commit the state to school safety; restore safety and order; implement conflict-resolution programs; prevent violence by…