Drawing on the Los Angeles Unified School District's experiences with charter schools, this brief highlights the difficulties in balancing the twin needs of charter-school autonomy and accountability, and their implications for the way in which charter schools and districts can work together. It identifies key challenges in district-school…

Steps are outlined that parents of handicapped children may follow if they wish to pursue complaints about their child's education. The steps include: (1) identifying the problem; (2) understanding the school system organization; (3) knowing their rights; and (4) trying to reach informal agreements before using legal remedies. (PP)

The phenomenon of "school-hopping" (students transferring frequently to different schools) and its effects on students is discussed. Strategies for teachers to use with parents who practice school-hopping (often to deny that their child may be in need of special help) are described. (CJ)

Provides a statement one reading-language skills teacher prepared for his colleagues concerning the services he could offer them and listing what he expected in return from both teachers and students. (FL)

Discusses basic assumptions about schools and about children that make the shift to inclusive practices difficult. Describes how school teams can have productive conversations (focusing on children's and teacher's needs) organized around advocacy, as they examine student work to determine effective instruction. Discusses organizational structures…

Examines the problems in initiating schoolwide reading reform. Argues for the formal establishment of a reading improvement team to negotiate and collaborate on long-range initiatives to improve reading instruction districtwide. Concludes that improving reading instruction is an ongoing, developmental, adult-learning process that requires a…

Curriculum modification to meet the needs of mildly handicapped learners is discussed, in terms of what is to be modified; the justification for curriculum modification; and necessary elements conducive to fostering curriculum modification by teachers, such as a school system curriculum of appropriate breadth and specificity and collaborative…

Discusses advantages of and criteria for development of effective caregiving teams in child care programs. (BB)

Designing staff development activities that incorporate four elements of reflective practice helps develop participants' reflective abilities. The article discusses focusing on real problems and concerns; changing the nature of the problem; process-oriented staff development; and promoting collaborative partnerships. (SM)

With declining enrollments and budget limitations, it becomes more and more difficult for small rural schools to offer state-approved programs (often based on the "bigger is better" model of education). For many already consolidated districts, further consolidation is not a viable solution to the problem. Cooperative arrangements are…

Successful university/school collaborations result in meaningful staff development programs that demonstrate shared goals and expectations, that promote a sense of community, and that provide order and discipline for all involved. Institutional collaborations occur when educational organizations combine their resources and personnel to improve the…

This facilitator's guide is one of three documents recommended for use in the development of a local level linkage system for the referral of severely handicapped students from education to rehabilitation. Introductory materials include a discussion of right versus entitlement and overview of the facilitator's role. The first section provides a…

This monograph is one of 12 that address various topics in the area of CETA/education linkages. They were designed to provide those individuals interested in the development and implementation of CETA/education linkages with information that will serve to enhance the quality of existing programs and facilitate the efficient and effective…

The purpose of this bulletin is to assist Alabama administrators, supervisors and teachers in providing a kindergarten program of learning experiences appropriate for 5-year-old children. The bulletin is divided into six sections encompassing different aspects of kindergarten education. Ten goals for the kindergarten program are suggested in…

Methods suggested for use by public libraries to stay on top of school assignments include a large, loose-leaf type binder entitled "School Assignments" to be kept at reference desk; assignment-related book lists; school assignment forms; and teacher notification forms to alert them if the library cannot fulfill their information…