This report summarizes Mayor Fenty's proposed legislation to take over the District of Columbia Public Schools, compares it to actions taken or proposed by the school board, and analyzes the potential of the mayor's plan to fix underlying school system problems identified by the Council in two recent reports. The Council has produced this current…

This report describes statistical indicators developed by the Council of the Great City Schools and its member districts to measure big-city school performance on a range of operational functions in business, finance, human resources and technology. The report also presents data city-by-city on those indicators. This is the second time that…

In this book, the author uses his experiences as a parent, teacher, and school board member to explore what has gone wrong with education and how to make it right. He takes the reader inside classrooms, locker rooms, school board meetings, and parent-teacher conferences to discover how children are being educated--or, more often than not,…

This book presents the largest and most comprehensive look at the men and women leading the nation's public schools. This profile of the school superintendency offers a close examination of: (1) superintendents' personal characteristics, professional experience, and professional preparation and training; (2) superintendent/school board relations;…

This article reports on an exploratory study of the factors perceived by school personnel to contribute to success in high-performing, high-needs (HPHN) rural schools. It is based on earlier research in HPHN schools that identified 4 key components of success (leadership, instruction, professional community, and school environment) and explored…

The significance of continuing segregation in Chicago's public schools is discussed in this report. The failure of the "Access to Excellence" program to achieve voluntary school integration in spite of magnet programs and permissive transfers is described. The question of white flight is examined in light of the belief that mandatory…

A comprehensive evaluation process begins with school board policy. Policy should provide direction by addressing the issues of who and what are to be evaluated, why evaluation is needed, when and by whom the evaluation is to be completed, and how the information is to be reported. An evaluation system, regardless of who is evaluated, should focus…

Because an excellent education depends on a balanced program of academics and activities, the Idaho Commission on Excellence recommends changes in 17 areas, including proficiency tests for all sixth and eighth graders and core course requirements for high school graduation. Administrators should complete 6 hours of graduate work every 5 years, and…

This report describes the process by which an integrated evaluation, planning, and budgeting system was developed and refined for use in Georgia's postsecondary vocational education system. An introductory section reviews the factors responsible for the lack of a systematic process in Georgia and outlines the objectives of the system development…

The State of the States 2004 report summarizes the laws affecting students, particularly, lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) students in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN) prepared this State of the States 2004 report to continue the comprehensive collection of data and…

Site-based management has failed to generate change significant enough to increase student learning even where principals, leadership teams, and faculties have had extensive Organizational Development training. The problem may lie in the nature of the workplace rather than in the reasonableness of the theory. This work presents a structure of…

According to two recent state surveys, much existing state legislation pays only lip service to the importance of parent participation. Staffing and funding levels are inadequate. Despite decades of federal legislation and support for parental involvement, most states have not passed enabling legislation or developed policies and written…

When selecting superintendents, school boards should not dismiss educational administration professors as ivory-tower academics who cannot function in real world. Many educational administration professors have already proved themselves as administrators and practice what they preach. They are seldom "overqualified" or devoted to theory over…

Establishing expectations for teachers, identifying deficiencies, providing assistance, and documenting the process are not always effective. School boards, administrators, and teacher unions must commit themselves to making teacher dismissals a realistic option. Otherwise, current reform efforts will consist more of rhetoric than substance. (MLH)

Outlines initiatives that principals, superintendents, and boards of education should take to implement and support a Discipline-Based Art Education program. Discusses values and benefits of DBAE, inevitable obstacles to change, and ways to generate support. In these initiatives and activities, the principal is the prime mover. (MLH)