Discusses the trend toward centralized decision making in schools brought about by state legislatures specifying curricular details. In the process, authority is shifted upwards to state level, and professionals become demoralized about changing or improving their schools' curricula. Citing Texas legislation and 11 other references, this paper…

This document contains an educational resource guide designed to help educators provide relevant education about sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) to secondary school students in compliance with the Texas State Board of Education Rules for Curriculum. The guide, taking a pragmatic approach that emphasizes a prevention/intervention strategy,…

Operation Excel is a program developed in a Texas school system that teaches principals and teachers the skills of effective teaching and teacher evaluation. The program has resulted in documented improvement in teacher effectiveness. (MD)

Describes the Southwest Texas Program for Improving Basic Skills Instruction in the Secondary Schools. It promotes a thoughtful, inquiry-oriented dialog between a university and six participating schools that encourages teachers to become more effective decision-makers. (MD)

The real-life drama 25 years ago when Apollo 13 was rescued through a collaborative team of colleagues provides a model for changes in many public schools. In Texas, the state code specifies that site-based decision making address planning, budgeting, curriculum staffing patterns, staff development, and school organization. (MLF)

This booklet comprises the seventh grade component of a series of curriculum guides on fire and burn prevention. Designed to meet the age-specific needs of seventh grade students, its objectives include: (1) practicing responsible decision-making regarding fire and burn hazards, including peer pressure related to fire risks; and (2) practicing…

This guide offers specific recommendations to Texas school districts concerning the implementation of least restrictive environment (LRE) requirements for students with disabilities. Suggestions are grouped according to six issues recommended for consideration in the decision making process: These are: (1) the primacy of the individual student's…

This analysis exemplifies Texas as 1 of 22 "adoption states" that select textbooks according to systematic state criteria and interprets this approach in relation to textbook reform efforts. Survey data of state committee members' ranking of criteria during the initial selection phase revealed that the top three criteria were…

Examines the institutional power of Texas's state textbook selection committee. Studies the relationship between selection of educational content and social and professional interests. Finds that centralized adoption provides citizens and interest groups input, but that technical and pragmatic priorities tend to dominate selection decisions. (NL)

This report examines the relationship between philanthropy and public schools in Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas served by the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory (SEDL). While begun as a project to build understanding and to support institutional planning, this report speaks also to local school leaders, the…

This document highlights the development of guidelines and strategies for teaching preservice and inservice elementary school educators about parent involvement. Based on previous Parent Involvement in Education Project research and on input from experts and professionals actively engaged in teacher education and/or parent involvement, strategies…

This resource guide is intended to assist local Texas school districts in the implementation of site-based decision-making and in the development of district and campus plans that will result in improved student performance. This document includes information on site-based decision-making and suggestions for developing district and campus plans.…

Developed by Project BASICS, this guide contains a basic training workshop that teachers in high schools could use to teach students job-seeking skills. The book contains learning activities that actively involve students. The activities are presented in a format in which the left side of the page contains the time length, rationale, materials,…

This instructional guide for a one-half credit technological laboratory course for grades 10-12 focuses on apparel from the perspectives of personal decision making related to apparel, the apparel industry, and career preparation. Introductory materials are a course description; overview of course design; facilities, equipment, and resources; and…

This curriculum guide is one of a number of curriculum guides developed for use in vocational home economics education in Texas. The guide is correlated closely with the essential elements prescribed by the State Board of Education. The competencies in the guide are the essential elements, and the subcompetencies are the subelements prescribed in…