Landon Mascareñaz and Doannie Tran propose that, even as events of this decade have exposed stress points in existing top-down, closed systems within education and other public institutions, they have also created prime opportunities to rethink and redesign those systems in ways that encourage civic participation and invigorate local democracy. In…

"Rural Education in America" provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the diversity and complexity of rural communities in the United States and for helping rural educators implement and evaluate successful place-based programs tailored for students and their families. Written by educators who grew up in rural America and…

School principals are charged with complex responsibilities that can include developing a school vision and culture, supporting teacher effectiveness, managing challenges and crises, communicating with the greater community, and more. However, recent research and surveys of school administrators indicate that principal preparation programs do not…

This report focuses on state and local taxation in the state of Kentucky. It looks into what "the ideal" tax system looks like and how Kentucky's system compares, whether the current system will provide adequate revenue for the long-term, whether the tax system is efficient, how fair and equitable the tax system is, and whether the state…

This collection of papers is the outcome of the National Academies' effort to glean information from six different case studies of student-perpetrated school shootings. Part 1, "Case Studies of Lethal School Violence," includes: "The Copycat Factor: Mental Illness, Guns, and the Shooting Incident at Heritage High School, Rockdale…

This report provides Kentucky policymakers with information on economic, educational, demographic, and environmental trends and issues with implications for policy decisions. Following an introduction, "Past as Prologue" (James C. Klotter), the 28 chapters are presented in 5 sections: "The White Picket Fence: Trends Affecting the…

In 1990, in response to court orders, Kentucky took the unprecedented step of throwing out the state's entire public educational system. Using outside consultants, they fashioned a model for education reform that many experts have hailed as the best in the United States. The Kentucky Education Reform Act (KERA) has become a beacon of hope for a…

This book offers parents and community members a clear picture of the Kentucky school improvement design through a solid and user-friendly explanation of the basics of the plan. The chapters are: (1) "What Is This Book For?"; (2) "What Is Our School System Working To Achieve?"; (3) "What Do Our Students Need To Know and Be…

This report contains the findings of two task forces established during 1994 by the Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence: (1) the Task Force on Improving Kentucky Schools; and (2) the Task Force on Restructuring Time and Learning. The task forces, comprised of parents and business members of the Prichard Committee, examined key elements of…

This autobiography relates the early teaching experiences of Kentucky teacher and author Jesse Stuart (1906-1984). Barely 17 years old, he first taught in a one-room, isolated rural school in eastern Kentucky for $60 a month. His 35 barefoot students in the eight grades ranged in age from 5 to 20 years. The students' passion for learning…

State departments of education (SDEs) play a pivotal role in the implementation of state-level school reform. This role is examined using two models of statewide school reform in Kentucky and Vermont. How the departments implemented their plans and how such implementation affected the internal dynamics of the departments, as well as the external…

The more revolutionary, drastic education reform efforts are usually supported by new governmental legislation. This book offers three case studies of drastic reform carried out in Kentucky, Alberta, and Chicago. The reforms can be visualized in terms of how close they are to the alternative aims of expert guidance, social activism, and an…

The perspectives in these essays present an examination of the Kentucky educational reform effort, with an examination of its rationale, various facets, and the reactions to its implementation. The ambitious assessment system includes multiple-choice and open-ended items, performance tasks, and portfolio assessments. The following are included:…

In 1989, the Kentucky Supreme Court declared that the state's public school system was unconstitutional and ordered the Kentucky legislature to create a new system of public education. The Kentucky General Assembly then enacted the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990 (KERA). This book sets forth the policy assumptions underlying KERA and…

This book examines the history of 20th century racial segregation in Kentucky higher education, the last state in the South to enact legislation banning interracial education in private schools and the first to remove it. In five chapters and an epilogue, the book traces the growth of racism, the period of acceptance of racism, the black…