This paper based on one dropout prevention specialist's experience in working with at-risk students, discusses the need for comprehensive and collaborative efforts to meet the special problems of these children. Various national and state statistics underscore the growing cost to society for the failure to fully educate those students who are at…

The court decision required high-quality educational standards to be written in specific detail. The master plan identified four elements of an effective educational system: standards for high-quality programs and services; required administrative and instructional practices; equitable funding methods; and accountability. (PB)

Self-interested political, corporate, and education leaders have undermined recent West Virginia court decisions mandating educational reform. Three implications are: (1) principals, teachers, parents, and students must be equal partners in the educaiton reform process; (2) a constituency for rural children is needed; and (3) rural educators must…

West Virginia's school improvement plan, emphasizing learning outcomes, mandates excellent education for all students. Following an executive summary, this paper discusses, first, the conflict between excellence and equity in educational reform, and West Virginia's intent to resolve that conflict; second, the legal foundations of the master plan,…

The West Virginia Board of Education and state superintendent of schools directed the preparation of this document as the result of a court opinion (Pauley v Bailey) holding that the system of financing West Virginia public schools was unconstitutional, and requiring the development of a master plan for a thorough and efficient system of…