School-based health clinics currently exist in 30 cities across the country, and more are being planned. Do the clinics offer students needed health services or undermine parental authority by offering birth control information? Discusses the benefits such clinics provide, their widespread supporters, and their opponents. (MD)

In "The Discipline of Market Leaders" (1995), Michael Treacy and Fred Wiersama argue that an enterprise cannot be successful unless it actively pursues one of three value propositions: operational leadership, customer intimacy, or product leadership. Schools, too, must make a strategic decision to devote energies, policies, and practices…

Redrawing school attendance boundaries is one of the most sensitive tasks a school board faces. Factors to consider include the following: (1) life span of the change; (2) effective date; (3) racial balance; (4) resource equity; and (5) program, public, and financial impact. Outlines a process for developing redistricting plans. (MLF)

In negotiating a superintendent's contract, caution and expert legal counsel are as important for the school board as for the superintendent. Offering a well-rounded package providing both annuities and insurance policies can help boards attract the best superintendent candidates. The most serious negotiation issue for superintendents involves…

Briefly describes each of 56 exemplary school modernization and renovation projects throughout the U.S. and lists a person at each site to contact for more information. (JG)

An administrator offers seven areas of advice for school officials to follow to lessen the chances of litigation and increase the chances of prevailing in court if lawsuits are filed against them. (MD)

Describes a five-process yearly cycle of goal setting, planning, and holding accountable that enabled this district to raise language arts test scores, improve public relations, develop a program for gifted and talented students, and close an elementary school without an emotional backlash. (Author/IRT)

key to facilities planning and successful bond issues is involving public. Taxpayers are unlikely to support superintendent's plan but will certainly vote for their own plan. Success means ensuring fiscally uncluttered pathway, retaining an architect, and working with demographer. Appointing broad-based community task force of about 30 members,…

After tornado leveled Grand Prairie Elementary School (Joliet, Illinois), concerted effort by architects and the school community paid off when new school was opened two years later. Hallways in new building are staggered throughout school to avoid the creation of wind tunnels in event of another tornado. Guidelines for disaster preparations…

To understand how a school uses technology, administrators should examine various data on students' computer skill development; staff development records; student anecdotes; lab logs; technology use plans; and software-acquisition, repair, and budget records. Technology implementation should mirror different classroom and subject-area needs and…

Describes how renovation and a little imagination can convert a city's older commercial buildings into sensitive, supportive quarters for education. The demographic changes within New York are offered as an example to other cities of the need for new kinds of facilities, rather than the need for new additional structures. (Author/WM)