This document explores issues of leadership for accountability and reviews five resources on the subject. These include: (1) "Accountability by Carrots and Sticks: Will Incentives and Sanctions Motivate Students, Teachers, and Administrators for Peak Performance?" (Larry Lashway); (2) "Organizing Schools for Teacher Learning"…

A good deal of evidence now suggests that a strong sense of community in schools has benefits for both staff members and students, while providing a necessary foundation for school improvement. This digest in Spanish provides an overview of the literature on schools as communities. The digest identifies the elements of community schools, the…

This paper examines grade spans (grade configurations) and their importance in community school systems. Research has shown that geographic location often dictates the kind of grade configuration districts use. Furthermore, every grade configuration has strengths and weaknesses, and school officials must focus on developing the positive potential…

A good deal of evidence now suggests that a strong sense of community in schools has benefits for both staff members and students, while providing a necessary foundation for school improvement. This digest provides an overview of the literature on schools as communities. The digest identifies the elements of community schools, the effects of…

Even though middle schools are important in retaining at-risk students, the organization and curriculum of most of them do not meet the developmental needs of young adolescents. Improvements should focus on making middle and junior high schools function less like large, impersonal high schools and more like caring, nurturing elementary schools,…

Recently, charter schools have gained popularity with parents, students, and others as alternatives to public schools, but what are charter schools and what effects are they having? This Spanish-language Digest defines charter schools and clarifies some of the administrative and legal details surrounding such schools. The Digest also lays out some…

Recently, charter schools have gained popularity with parents, students, and others as alternatives to public schools, but what are charter schools and what effects are they having? This digest defines charter schools and clarifies some of the administrative and legal details surrounding such schools. The digest also lays out some of the potential…

This ERIC Digest discusses the issue of the school district management audit--a comprehensive examination of an organization in order to assess efficient use of resources and program effectiveness. Several aspects of the management audit issue are covered in question-and-answer format: (1) What is a management audit? (2) What areas are covered by…

Grade-span configuration refers to the range of grades within a school. Grade span is an important issue to various factions in public education, including advocates of middle schools and rural educators concerned with the association between grade fragmentation and school consolidation. This digest focuses on research that has examined the…

This ERIC Digest describes how experiential education can help in designing a curriculum that young people find significant. It also describes ways experiential education can help educators make the transition from a traditional program to an activity-based program. Experiential education differs from traditional education in that teachers first…

Privatization calls for substantially trimming the scope and breadth of government services, replacing them with private or other nongovernmental operators. The attraction of privatization is reduced costs and increased management flexibility. To date, the arrangement has received substantial support from students and parents in situations that…

Confronted by overcrowded schools and tight budgets, school districts in about 30 states are keeping schools open year round. This is not extending the school year; year-round students attend the same number of days as those on the traditional calendar, but the year-round students have several short breaks. More students can fit into existing…

The 11 items in this annotated bibliography on school-based management provide information on the pros and cons of the decentralization of budgeting, the administrative role, site management, and decision-making. Also discussed are the autonomy of schools, principals as educators with managerial skills, and education vouchers. The publications…

This digest discusses the issue of school-based management (SBM), defined as a system of administration in which the school is the primary unit of educational decision making. Responsibility for certain decisions about the budget, personnel, and the curriculum is placed at the school level rather than the district level. Several aspects of SBM are…

Many educators advocate school-based management, a method of decentralization wherein the school, instead of the district office, becomes the primary unit of educational decision-making. This shift is part of American education's long-term oscillation between administrative centralization and decentralization. Centralization, say its critics, has…