In the U.S., state guidance to schools in response to the COVID-19 pandemic was politicized. We used state-level political affiliation to explore whether access to curricular resources differed pre-pandemic or during pandemic remote teaching and teachers' reported control over curricular resources during pandemic teaching. We found that…

This paper reports on two processes used to begin a long-term series of studies on educational power structures in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. Purposes of the study were to determine if (1) substrata or pools of power undergird educational power structures, (2) certain paths to power are…

The accelerated schools process provides a systematic approach to the restructuring of schools. Developed in 1986 by Henry M. Levin, the strategy seeks to provide the best education for all students. During the first stage, the "taking stock" phase, everyone in the school community works together to develop a comprehensive school…

Policy-making problems being faced in Louisiana regarding the testing of handicapped students within a state mandated minimum competency testing program are dealt with. The decision-making process is complicated by the fact that two groups (staff administering the test and staff administering programs for the handicapped) with differing…

Findings of a study that examined how information is used in schools that have adopted shared decision-making practices are presented in this paper. The study focused on how first- and second-year principals access, use, and value various kinds of information. A total of 24 out of 29 Louisiana LEAD schools responded to a questionnaire, an…

"Citizenship" is a quality that most Americans would agree should be promoted in the schools. "Values education," as we have seen, provokes controversy and the question "Whose values are you going to teach?" An acceptable response is: "Values of citizenship, American democratic values, and the values upon which…

This paper presents findings of a study that examined how teachers restructuring schools came to understand the meaning of the term "unity of purpose." Fourteen Louisiana schools, comprised primarily of high-risk student populations, implemented the accelerated-schools model of restructuring. The accelerated school model is based on…

The System for Teaching and Learning Assessment and Review (STAR) is a comprehensive on-the-job teacher assessment system designed to collect information and make important decisions about the quality of effective teaching and student learning in classrooms within an interactive framework of professional development and support. The Louisiana STAR…