Teachers may reap rewards on payday during the upcoming school year, thanks to increasingly flush state coffers and the political dynamics of an election year. Governors from both political parties, in many of the 36 states holding gubernatorial elections in the fall of 2006, are urging their legislatures to raise pay for teachers or give them…

Noting that parliamentary procedure instruction should begin before college, this article discusses how registered parliamentarians can introduce high school students to parliamentary procedures, particularly through student government activities. (PD)

Regardless of a school's size or whether its setting is rural, urban, or suburban, the establishment of a student council organization can serve as a unique and valuable learning laboratory for civic education. Student council teaches students many intangible life skills and allows students to take on different roles and learn when to step back,…

The Cats Care Program at Northlake Elementary School in Dallas, Texas, has the continuing goal of each student becoming aware of and practicing good community living. (Author/IRT)

Six years ago, students at Birch Meadow Elementary School (Reading, Massachusetts) were polite to adults, but callous and uncaring toward each other. Today, thanks to a "Just Community" approach modeled on Lawrence Kohlberg's philosophy, students feel a sense of school ownership and responsibility for their classmates. (MLH)

The author discusses the advantages of student self-government and describes the work of student committees at Belper High School, Derbyshire, in setting up a student coffee shop, planning school sports, and orienting new students. (SJL)

Describes a student government developed at the Ralph Dunlap School (Santa Maria, CA) that is modeled on a constitutional monarchy using the parliamentary governing system. (MD)

A middle school teacher describes the way in which a gifted program gained prominence and its students acquired peer esteem through a model congress approach in which students learned parliamentary rules and debate principles. (CL)

After student court justices at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock closed their deliberations to the student press, an attorney general reviewed the incident and decided that student court meetings fall under the Freedom of Information Act. (GT)

Reviews situations in which administrators are justified in substituting their decisions for those of students, offers rationale and legal foundation for such actions, gives suggested process to follow for administrators who feel that students decisions are inappropriate, and discusses situations illustrating that administrators sometimes must…

Conducted ethnographic study of unique student organization, the Young Monarchists League, formed as a student political party to run against another campus party that was then in control of student government and the student senate. Study provides glimpse of the group from within and demonstrates difficulty of placing a group within a typology.…

Discusses the need for schools to not only teach students about their rights and responsibilities as citizens, but to encourage them to practice these principles though active involvement in various school activities. Describes how some schools have accomplished the latter by implementing a concept called "youth infusion" involving…

Described is a jury trial involving intermediate grade students as defendants, lawyers, and jury, with an adult as judge. It is suggested that it is important to deal with serious offenses at school in a democratic way that involves students in decision making. (KC)

Teachers at a laboratory middle school in Evanston, Illinois, reconceptualized and revitalized an ailing student council according to some meaningful goals: empowering and involving all students, creating an atmosphere for cooperative action, and offering opportunities for service. There are three main arms to this action council (service,…

Recent high school reform efforts strongly recommend that schools model democratic principles and give students, teachers, parents, and community members a significant role in school governance and the decision-making process. Specific recommendations include the creation of site-based decision-making councils, student leadership forums, and…