Summarizes recent scholarship on superintendents and classroom learning. Concludes that central-office involvement is infrequent but probably necessary for widespread school improvement. Proposes guidelines for future research. (BJV)

In this article, I examine the adequacy of a Catholic school district's written documents dealing with the inclusion of non-Catholic students. I first describe, in communitarian terms, the nature of a Catholic school community; then I use a contractarian analysis of the school district's written inclusionary policy to better understand its…

The findings of 22 significant and accessible studies of community involvement in school board policy formation, selected from over 130 relevant studies, are analyzed in this report to provide lay activists with information that could prove useful in efforts to influence policy-making. This information is organized in a question-and-answer format,…

Policies governing the organization and timing of school elections affect democratic representation in school decision making. Some argue that school board elections should be consolidated with general municipal elections on the grounds that this will increase participation and representation, but little empirical work addresses the consequences…

To help school boards exercise better policy control over the instructional program, researchers reviewed the literature and surveyed board members to determine how much influence boards should have over curriculum, how much influence they do have, and how much they want to have. After briefly tracing the history of board involvement, the…

Censorship has become a significant problem for public school libraries and has been addressed in several court cases, including Pico v. Island Trees Board of Education, the first such case to be heard by the Supreme Court. In this case, to be decided in the summer of 1982, the school board voted to remove a group of books from school libraries,…

The author begins this chapter by noting that the governance of the public schools has become increasingly complex and that evidence from 1978 supports the premise that the competence of boards of education is being tested. He then goes on to examine court cases and legislation relating to a number of specific areas of governance--the state board…

This paper outlines several policy and program suggestions for improving Connecticut's urban schools which build upon the States's current intiatives and incorporate the current research findings emanating from studies of effective schools. The author first provides a framework for his suggestions by reviewing research to delineate the…

Reviews "cutback management" and "crisis management" literature and suggests four approaches for school trustees: recognize the problem for what it is; recognize your particular dilemma; don't stall, set priorities; and do it in a way that will elicit cooperation, not competing advocacies. (BRR)

Presents reviews of the 35 books that school board members should read this year. (IRT)

This article evaluates the "Report of the National Reading Panel: Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction: Reports of the Subgroups" (National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000). The author also examines the…

This handbook contains specific suggestions and activities designed to assist small, rural school districts in identifying local resources for determining their readiness and capacity for curriculum renewal. State education agencies are becoming more active in curriculum issues, with new standards guiding local resources, practices, and learning…

This literature-based paper attempts to delineate the role of various groups in controlling special education in public schools. The paper argues that historically education has been a local matter, but contemporary interpreation tends to view education as a societal issue, a view which provides the impetus for education to become a state function…

Drawing on current research and practice, this monograph is designed to help school boards deal with the important question of parent involvement. The first of five chapters examines the benefits of parent involvement in education. Next, the current demographic and societal trends that make involving parents more difficult than previously are…

Chapter 1 of a book on school law, this chapter summarizes 1979 cases related to school governance in several areas: authority of state boards of education and other governmental agencies, authority of state superintendents of education, powers and duties of school boards, open meeting laws, constitutional matters, conflicts of interest on the…