Briscoe's article explains how PennServe, Pennsylvania's youth service program, converts young people from a problem to a community resource of which to be proud. Silcox explains various facets of a Philadelphia high school's PennServe program and shows how school-based service has changed attitudes, values, and relationships and enlivened…

A shooting incident at a rural Pennsylvania junior high school shocked the district into identifying students most prone to violent behavior. Predictors include low self-esteem, asocial behavior, documented family abuse, resistance to counseling, lack of commitment, and depressive or suicidal behavior. Initiating a caring advisory program is the…

Controversy over a proposed outcome-based-education package in Pennsylvania forced school reformers to eliminate explicit values instruction from the curriculum. Although respect and responsibility were agreed-upon moral values, tolerance was not. Proponents erred by failing to publicize and promote positive aspects of the reform, underestimating…

Explores the relationship between superintendent leadership and school districts' organizational culture, based on case studies of three successful Pennsylvania districts. Identifies leadership characteristics shared by these superintendents: espousing child- centered values; modeling district beliefs and values; and attending to educational…

Describes an interview between a retired assistant superintendent in a Pennsylvania school district and a Pennsylvania Department of Education student services advisor. Discusses changing role of counselors, weaknesses in school guidance programs, challenges to counselors, and threats from litigation. (FC)

"Back to Prosperity. A Competitive Agenda for Renewing Pennsylvania" was a shot across the bow for the state. The report's findings and the work of Richard Florida and the Social Impact of the Arts Project--taken together with the rich intellectual movement of music education during the latter half of the twentieth century and the…

Improving the quality of out-of-school time activities and creating effective learning environments is of keen interest to practitioners, funders and policymakers. Funded by The William Penn Foundation, "Quality Time After School" identifies characteristics of after-school activities that are linked to youth engagement and learning…

This workbook, submitted by the State of Pennsylvania to the U.S. Department of Education, is for State Grants under Title IX, Part C, Section 9302 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (Public Law 107-110). By January 31, 2003, States must complete and submit to the Department this Consolidated State Application Accountability Workbook.…

Data-driven decision making (DDDM), applied to student achievement testing data, is a central focus of many school and district reform efforts, in part because of federal and state test-based accountability policies. This paper uses RAND research to show how schools and districts are analyzing achievement test results and other types of data to…

This circular outlines the inclusion policy of the Pennsylvania Department of Education. Inclusion is defined as a combination of long-standing "least restrictive environment" policies, with an emphasis on active social membership in the class or community, but not representing a legal requirement that every child be educated in the same…

Pennsylvania's public school women administrators and their respective superintendents were surveyed by mailed questionnaires, which gathered information about their childhood, families, educational preparation, job recruitment, professional experiences, and future plans. The superintendents rated their work performance. Findings were compared…

These guidelines are designed to integrate arts and humanities into the secondary curriculum by recommending the subject areas to be included, the classroom environment to be fostered, instructional approaches, possible courses, and methods of implementation at all levels from that of the teacher to the state department of education. The…

The need to verify the competencies purported to be developed by individuals completing a program designed to prepare supervisors of special education led to surveying 29 Pennsylvania Directors of Special Education who were asked to rate successful first year supervisors of special education on 40 competencies. Results indicated the eight roles…

Regional Educational Service Agencies (RESAs)--agencies between the state and local level--are an important resource for helping local educators cope with a variety of pressures from an increasingly complex environment. They do so by performing two functions. Political linkage provides knowledge about the impacts of mandates on specific districts…