Based on a two-year ethnographic study of an English primary school, this article examines how its headteacher struggled to cope with rapid change while trying to maintain positive relationships within the school and with external groups. Focus is on (mostly positive) outcomes from liaison work with an affiliation of headteacher colleagues (the…

Charter schools are independent legal entities empowered to hire and fire, handle lawsuits, and control their own finances. Charter schools require new relationships with school boards, utilize site-based decision making, and foster new teacher roles. Minnesota, California, and Massachusetts are experimenting with charter schools. A sidebar…

The traditional trustee-superintendent relationship is based on trustees' lack of direct access to knowledge and both parties' expectation that the paid expert (the superintendent) should do the work. This article calls for a drastically revised board-superintendent relationship and outlines new ways to recruit board members and move current…

Reviews and analyzes the major educational reforms initiated in Connecticut during the last 10 years, employing economics terminology. Describes selected initiatives from the 1986 Education Enhancement Act. Discusses the effects of four state commissions with input from key interest groups on Connecticut educational policy. State board of…

Public educators must exercise reasonable care in screening prospective employees. The best way to avoid harm to students (and negligent lawsuits) is to check references carefully to determine a candidate's fitness. This means verifying basic data and scrutinizing past job performance by contacting references familiar with the candidate's work…

Although state laws governing school district investing are quite conservative, there have been some notable investment failures leading to the loss of public funds. School districts must beware three kinds of investment risks involving credit, market, and interest rates and consider safety, legality, liquidity, and cash-flow requirements. (MLH)

A survey of local school-board chairs in North Carolina concluded that such leaders show more philosophical agreement with reform ideas (decentralization, work redesign, the student as worker, school choice, and the board chair's role) than practical knowledge of how to implement those ideas locally. (MLH)

In September 1999, the (British) New Labor government implemented three new categories of schools (foundation, voluntary, and community) replacing all previous classifications, including grant-maintained (self-governing) schools, no required to have local education authority representatives on their governing bodies. Future governance implications…

Board members should avoid 10 common errors: losing patience, behaving badly, challenging the board after a vote, acting like inspectors, micromanaging school administrators, springing surprise questions at meetings, putting politics before children, representing special interests, violating executive session, and putting the board before family…

A cash-flow plan allows districts lead time for investing, borrowing, reducing or delaying expenditures, expanding revenue sources, informing the community, and avoiding surprises. Planners should identify type, timing, and amount of revenues and expenditures and then compare revenues and expenditures to determine (and accommodate) shortfalls or…

Elementary, middle school, and high school teachers from Fairfax County Public Schools express their views about reducing class size. Teachers from all grade levels said that reduced class size increased student learning and enhanced their teaching effectiveness, whereas large classes had the opposite effect. Lists four policy recommendations.…

Study found that graduate rates and college attendance of students who participated in two I Have a Dream (IHAD) afterschool programs in Chicago increased significantly. Describes what was learned and identifies four lessons districts can use to replicate Chicago's success with their own afterschool programs. (PKP)

K-8 centers combine grades in one location or school that are usually assigned to a separate elementary (K-5) and middle school (6-8). In 1998 the School Board of Miami-Dade County, Florida, approved a pilot program to introduce to the district the concept of K-8 centers. Miami-Dade County Public Schools (MDCPS) initiated two K-8 centers during…

Teacher leadership plays a significant role in the professional culture of many schools across the country, according to principals who value it. This is the major conclusion from a survey and telephone interviews conducted by the Institute for Educational Leadership (IEL). While limited in scope, the study confirms the contributions of teacher…

In this report, the National Council on Teacher Quality (NCTQ) takes a close look at the governance of the teaching profession and finds that state legislators and other state-level policymakers crafting state laws and regulation, not those bargaining at the local level, decide some of the most important rules governing the teaching profession.…