In this report to the New York City Board of Education, Chancellor Macchiarola identifies the three overall goals of his administration: (1) a more accountable staff at every level; (2) a system more conscious of the need for productive use of current resources; and (3) students who achieve and value learning. With respect to his first goal,…

Two Constitutional principles--separation of church and state and freedom of speech--have been placed in conflict by the newly established Equal Access Act (1984). Some ways that school boards have found to deal with the confusion are presented. (MD)

State boards and schools need to reframe how they view the role of public education. The time children spend in school cannot be kept separate from everything else happening in their lives. The National Association of State Boards of Education Study Group believes that academic achievement is linked to the development of the whole child and that…

A needs assessment produced the four themes (school board member role, communications linkages and processes, problem solving and decision making, planning) which provided the framework for a successful weekend leadership training workshop for Fort Worth (Texas) Independent School District School Board Members. (SB)

In this article, the author examines whether the very reasons that explain why intelligent design is controversial in the science curriculum also apply to social studies. She reports what teachers at a recent democratic education conference said about four different lessons on intelligent design that could fit into social studies courses. She…

This article contains excerpts from a winter 2004 report from the National Association of State Boards of Education, "The Complete Curriculum: Ensuring a Place for the Arts and Foreign Languages in America's Schools." [C] The National Association of State Boards of Education, 2004.

The Detroit Public Schools (DPS) have been battered by substantial outside forces over the last decade. The school system was taken over by the state; its elected school board was dissolved and replaced by an appointed body; its many operating systems were privatized; its citizenry were encouraged to flee to charter schools; and its resources have…

This paper considers the establishment of three alternative programs within a school district over time to explore the assumption that such programs reflect families' preferences and that consumer demand dictates their survival. We examine differences in discourses around alternative programs that relate to the type of program and when, why, and…

The purpose of The Arizona Long-Range Strategic Educational Technology Plan is to map the future of the "education support systems" necessary for Arizona's children to succeed in today's world. The plan details goals and strategies for policy makers, the State Board of Education, the State Department of Education, Institutions of Higher…

The charge of the Committee on Strategies for Excellence was to examine the current status of elementary and secondary education in Iowa, and to investigate ways in which school districts could be educationally more productive. The report brings together recommendations from various state and national reports, reviews the literature, and makes…

School administrators must speak out when single-issue or "stealth" groups threaten to take over a school board. Administrators can help ensure that election campaigns stimulate community debate, discussion, and consensus about educational directions. They must know how to remove the cover from stealth candidates, respond to the public,…

The level of technology in the boardroom has not kept pace with what is available in district classrooms. Boards should gain electronic access to information, such as budget figures, and learn to use computer graphics (via laptop computers and wall screens) to make presentations of projects, policies, and school tax histories. The paper-shuffling…

The superintendents and school board members participating in this study were randomly selected from New York State school districts. Respondents' perceptions of the purposes, strengths, and weaknesses of formal superintendent evaluations and the importance attached to various superintendent functions were similar. However, few superintendents…

Policy is a school board's most powerful tool for improving the academic performance of students under its jurisdiction. District policies should be crafted carefully and assessed against certain criteria: measurable improvement for all students, focus on learning outcomes, measurement and reporting requirements, and staff training and development…

School boards cannot regulate teachers' off-duty behavior just because they see a connection between immorality and teaching effectiveness. Teachers should not be held to outdated societal standards. Exceptions include behaviors that create risk of harm or actually endanger children. Eliminating ineffective teaching is an important, but separate…